Arsenal extends lead at the top to seven points

BRIGHTON: Bukayo Saka and Eddie Nketiah scored early goals in the first and second half respectively as Arsenal won 4-2 away to Brighton and Hove Albion in the final Premier League match of 2022 on Saturday, opening up a seven-point lead at the top of the table.

Arsenal tops the standings on 43 points with the second-placed Manchester City, which was held to a 1-1 draw by Everton earlier in the day, on 36 points. Saka netted little more than a minute into the match after Gabriel Martinelli’s shot was deflected into his path. He cushioned the ball with his first touch before deftly guiding it home with his second.

Leandro Trossard had a couple of decent chances for the home side before Martin Odegaard bagged Arsenal’s second goal in the 39th minute, pouncing on a loose clearance and driving a shot that bounced up and into the net.

The League leader looked to have wrapped up the victory just after the break as Brighton goalkeeper Robert Sanchez spilled another Martinelli shot, into the path of striker Nketiah, who bundled the ball home from close range.

However, a Kaoru Mitoma goal in the 65th minute threw Brighton a lifeline. Although Martinelli netted the fourth for Arsenal after a stunning Odegaard pass, teenage forward Evan Ferguson set up a grandstand finish by reducing the host’s deficit to two.

Mitoma thought he had made it 3-4 in the 89th minute, but the goal was chalked off after a VAR review found that he had come from an offside position before taking the shot.

“We do not care about the other teams, three points was everything and we did it. Maybe, we need to control the game a bit better, we let it (Brighton) in a few times,” Arsenal captain Odegaard told Sky Sports.

RESULTS: Brighton & Hove Albion 2 (K Mitoma 65, E Ferguson 77) lost to Arsenal 4 (B Saka 2, M Odegaard 39, E Nketiah 47, G Martinelli 71); Tottenham Hotspur 0 lost to Aston Villa 2 (E Buendia 50, D Luiz 73)

1 Finding the back of the net at 66 seconds, Bukayo Saka scored Arsenal’s earliest away goal in the Premier League since May 2013

3 Assists by Martin Odegaard since the League’s restart