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Arsenal secured a clinical 3-0 win against Brighton & Hove Albion at the AmEx Stadium in the Premier League on Saturday, April 6.
The Gunners entered this contest on the back of a strong run of form. They were unbeaten in their six games prior to this contest, winning five and drawing once. In that run, they scored 15 goals and conceded just two as they looked a formidable force. Having defeated Luton Town 2-0 in their last game, Mikel Arteta was hoping his team could carry the momentum forward.
Brighton, on the other hand, entered this game on the back of a mixed run of form. With two wins, one draw and three defeats in their last six games, Roberto De Zerbi's men were in search of consistency. They lost 2-1 to Liverpool before being unable to pick Brentford apart in their 0-0 draw last time. The Italian fielded a strong lineup.
The first half saw both Brighton and Arsenal make good starts to the game as they both looked to carve out openings. The hosts looked sharper in the initial exchanges and threatened to score early goals. However, the Gunners kept their composure and continued to push forward in search of a goal.
Tariq Lamptey was unlucky to have conceded a penalty against Gabriel Jesus following a soft decision by the referee. Bukayo Saka stepped up and scored to make it 1-0 to Arsenal after 33 minutes. They carried their one-goal lead into half-time.
Arsenal made a decent start to the second half and carried a bit more urgency to their play as they looked for a second goal. That came just 17 minutes after the restart as Jorginho played Kai Havertz through for a lovely team goal. Both managers then turned to their respective benches as they looked to shuffle their lineups for the last part of the game.
However, it was the Gunners who had the last laugh shortly before full-time. Havertz turned provider as he played a lovely assist for substitute Leandro Trossard. The Belgian scored against his former club and even celebrated the goal as Arsenal won 3-0 against Brighton.
With that said, let's take a look at the five hits and flops from the contest.
#5. Hit - Pervis Estupinan (Brighton)
Estupinan had a good game for Brighton and was by far their best defender on the pitch. He won six duels, making three interceptions, one tackle and one clearance. He passed the ball with 95% accuracy, including one long ball and one key pass.
Overall he was his team's most proactive, and hence their best player on the pitch. However, without support, there was little else he could do.
#4. Flop - Carlos Baleba (Brighton)
Baleba had a poor game in midfield for Brighton and looked off the pace for the most part. He passed the ball with 85% accuracy, including one long ball. He also won just three of 11 duels in midfield.
Apart from that, Baleba looked clueless in the center of the park. He was also dispossessed off the ball nine times.
#3. Hit - Bukayo Saka (Arsenal)
Saka scored Arsenal's first goal of the game from the spot with a lovely finish, sending the goalkeeper the wrong way. With that, the Englishman now has 17 goals and 13 assists in 38 appearances across competitions and has been one of the most important players so far.
Now, with less than 10 games remaining, Saka will look to do his best as the season comes to an end. Arsenal are currently leading the Premier League with 71 points from 31 games, one ahead of Liverpool in second and one ahead of Manchester City in third.
#2. Flop - Oleksandr Zinchenko (Arsenal)
Arsenal left-back Oleksandr Zinchenko put in another average performance for the club as he struggled for most of the game. He won just one of his three duels and also lost possession of the ball six times. Apart from that, the Ukrainian did not make any substantial contributions on either end of the pitch.
#1. Hit - Kai Havertz (Arsenal)
Havertz put in a great performance for the Gunners as manager Mikel Arteta's faith in his abilities bore fruit once again. He scored his team's second goal with a lovely finish to make it 2-0 after 62 minutes.
Havertz also provided an assist for Leandro Trossard to score late in the game to seal the result for the Gunners. With these contributions, Havertz is now up to 10 goals and five assists in 41 appearances for the Gunners.
