Brighton 0-1 Arsenal: Player ratings as Gunners secure slender but crucial victory

Arsenal extended their lead at the top of the Premier League to seven points as they secured another crucial victory with a 1-0 win away to Brighton.

Mikel Arteta made two changes to the side that beat Chelsea at the weekend with Gabriel Martinelli came in for Leandro Trossard while Cristhian Mosquera took the place of William Saliba, who was forced to miss the trip to the Amex.

It was nearly a disaster start for the Gunners as David Raya gave the ball away to Carlos Baleba, who looked to lob the Spaniard, but Gabriel got back to head it over the crossbar.

That missed opportunity came back to bite the Seagulls soon after when Arsenal went ahead through Bukayo Saka. The winger collected the ball from Jurrien Timber on the right flank and drifted inside before beating Bart Verbruggen with a deflected effort.

Both sides looked to find the next goal, but a mixture of good defending and poor attacking meant the scoreline was just 1-0 at the break.

Brighton started the second-half well as they kept the visitors pegged back for the opening 10 minutes, but couldn't carve out any real opportunity to equalise. Georginio Rutter went close to levelling matters just before the hour when he sent a volley towards goal from the edge of the box, but Raya got down well to save.

It continued to be a frustrating second period for the Gunners as they had to rely on the odd counterattack while the hosts continued to cause problems. However, both sides continued to struggle in the search for the all-important next goal.

Substitute Kai Havertz almost grabbed a second for his side when he was played in by Leandro Trossard before looking to beat Verbruggen from a tight angle, but his effort was saved and sent out for a corner.

Arsenal did brilliantly to survive a late onslaught from Brighton to see out yet another crucial victory in the Premier League title race. As Manchester City were held to a shock 2-2 draw at home to Nottingham Forest, the Gunners' lead at the top of the table was extended to seven points.

Here are the Arsenal player ratings from their 1-0 win at Brighton.

Brighton 0-1 Arsenal player ratings

Goalkeeper & Defenders

David Raya (GK) - 7/10 - Guilty of presenting Brighton an early chance when he gave the ball away. Kept his clean sheet intact when he got down well to deny Rutter. Did a good job of dominating his area to claim crosses.

Jurrien Timber (RB) - 7/10 - Played the ball to Saka to assist the opening goal. Defended well and got into good attacking positions when he could.

Cristhian Mosquera (CB) - 6/10 - Put in a risky challenge on Minteh in the box when on a yellow card, but his opponent opted against going down. Taken off shortly after.

Gabriel Magalhaes (CB) - 8/10 - Got back well to head away Baleba's lobbed effort. Made a good slidling block to deny Mitoma. Continued to be crucial throughout the remainder of the game.

Piero Hincapié (LB) - 7/10 - Made some really good runs up and down the left flank to show his pace and help out in attack. Moved inside to centre back when Calafiori came on.

Midfielders

Martín Zubimendi (CM) - 7/10 - Won the ball back in important areas a fair few times. A better performance at the base than in recent weeks. Subbed off for the closing stages.

Declan Rice (CM) - 7.5/10 - Did really well to recover after losing the ball to make a perfectly timed tackle and win back possession. Quick to pounce on loose passes and caused problems with his set pieces.

Eberechi Eze (AM) - 6/10 - Played a nice first time pass through to Saka early on. Couldn't influence the play much more beyond that however.

Forwards

Bukayo Saka (RW) - 7/10 - Put his side in front when he cut inside and beat Verbruggen with a deflected strike from the edge of the box. Didn't see the ball much after but caused problems with it when he did.

Viktor Gyökeres (ST) - 5.5/10 - Struggled up front as he was guilty of losing possession in good positions a number of times. Withdrawn just before the hour mark.

Gabriel Martinelli (LW) - 6/10 - Won a few fouls down the left side, but couldn't have too much of an impact as he was replaced after 60 minutes.

Substitutes

• Kai Havertz (on 59' for Gyökeres) - 7/10
• Leandro Trossard (on 60' for Martinelli) - 6/10
• Riccardo Calafiori (on 64' for Mosquera) - 6.5/10
• Christian Nørgaard (on 79' for Zubimendi) - 6/10

Player of the match: Gabriel Magalhaes