Arsenal responded perfectly to Manchester City’s early Premier League (PL) win, reclaiming the top spot with a narrow 2-1 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion. The win marked their sixth successive PL triumph at the Emirates Stadium.

Fresh from a Carabao Cup quarter-final victory over Crystal Palace on penalties, the Gunners turned their attention to their penultimate fixture of the calendar year in the M23 derby.

It took less than 15 minutes for Arsenal to break the deadlock, capitalizing on Bart Verbruggen’s poor clearance. Makeshift right-back Declan Rice nodded the ball into Bukayo Saka’s path, and a layoff to Martin Ødegaard allowed him the time and space to unleash a shot from the edge of the box, finally ending his wait for his first goal of the season.

With the lead secured, Arsenal continued to dominate the first half and nearly doubled their advantage when Martin Zubimendi’s clever flick forced Verbruggen into a sharp low stop to his right.

The second goal came just seven minutes after the restart. Arsenal’s set-piece threat proved costly for Brighton, as Georginio Rutter inadvertently glanced Rice’s near-post corner past his own goalkeeper.

At that point, Mikel Arteta’s side seemed firmly in control, but Brighton pulled one back with over 25 minutes remaining. Diego Gomez reacted quickly to finish after Yasin Ayari’s strike hit the far post, injecting life into Brighton following a subdued performance.

The visitors pressed for an equalizer, and David Raya, making his 150th PL appearance, produced a fingertip save to deny Yankuba Minteh’s curling effort.

Ultimately, Brighton ran out of time to salvage a point. Arsenal maintained their unbeaten home league record, sending Brighton down to 12th and extending their winless streak to five games. Meanwhile, the Gunners returned to the summit with their third successive PL victory by a one-goal margin.