Clinical Arsenal sweeps Brighton aside to go top of EPL table

Arsenal's win over Brighton sends them to the top; Aston Villa's comeback against Brentford; West Ham's victory over Wolves.

Gabriel Jesus celebrates after scoring the opener in Arsenal's 2-0 win over Brighton on Sunday at the Emirates. (Photo credit: GOAL)

Arsenal returned to the summit of the Premier League log with a professional performance that ended Brighton’s great run at the Emirates.

Rumors of Declan Rice’s illness roamed the streets before the game, sending Arsenal fans into jitters, but the England midfielder shrugged off the flu and was able to line up alongside the same eleven that lost 1-0 at Aston Villa.

The visitors lost Joel Veltman midway through the first half to injury but didn’t trouble the Gunners for a second. Arsenal missed lots of chances, and it was beginning to look like more of the same thing happened against Villa last weekend.

With Liverpool hosting United later in the day, Arsenal knew only a win would see them go top, and, early in the second half, Gabriel Jesus headed home from a deflected Bukayo Saka corner to hand the Gunners a deserved lead.

The goal forced Brighton out a bit, but they could only manage one solitary shot on target all game long. It was looking like a goal would be enough for the Gunners to claim victory, but Kai Havertz doubled the advantage with three minutes on the clock.

Eddie Nketiah, who came in for Gabriel Jesus, set the German international up for a clean finish, his fourth in the Premier League this season. The goal sealed a routine home win for the Gunners and sent them to the top of the log.

At about the same time, Aston Villa came from a goal down to beat Brentford at the G-Tech Stadium. Ben Mee was shown a red card in the first half after Lewis Potter had scored the opener, but Alberto Moreno levelled for the visitors midway into the second half.

It got better for Villa late in the game. Ollie Watkins got on the end of a Boubacar Kamara pass to score the winner, but the latter was shown a red card deep into stoppage time. It was a tempestuous game that saw twelve yellow cards and two dismissals, with both managers going into the book.

West Ham did a number on Wolves at the London Stadium to move within just two points of the top-six spot. Mohammed Kudus scored twice to set the Hammers on their way before Jarrod Bowen added the third midway into the second half.