Trips to the Amex Stadium are rarely straightforward, and with the title race heating up, three points were an absolute necessity. The stars aligned for our Starboy on a landmark evening.
The Landmark Goal
At 24 years and 180 days, Saka became the fourth-youngest player to reach 300 games for Arsenal, behind only David O'Leary, Cesc Fàbregas and Liam Brady. Then he wrote the headline himself: in the ninth minute he cut inside, hit one from range, and the deflection took it through Bart Verbruggen.
In a game where chances were at a premium, this early breakthrough proved to be gold dust.
Defensive Resilience
The rest of the match was defending, and we did it well. We slowed the game deliberately rather than chasing a second, kept Brighton in front of us, and protected the space in behind. They pressed harder after the break and turned it into broken phases, but the box was defended properly, with Gabriel again prominent.
"This was a really difficult one after everything we've been through in the last few weeks. Big credit to the boys because the effort they put in is astronomical."
On the milestone man, Arteta needed one word twice: "Unbelievable. Unbelievable numbers at his age to produce the amount of games, to do it in the manner that he's done it and the stats that he's got related to those games is just incredible."
Coupled with Manchester City's 2-2 draw against Nottingham Forest, this 1-0 win moves us seven points clear at the top of the Premier League table!
Man of the Match: Bukayo Saka 🌶️
Who else? The match-winner on a historic milestone appearance.