'Only one team tried to play' - Arsenal earn the points, but not plaudits
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Is this the night the villains of the Premier League title race became victors, asks BBC Sport Chief Football Writer Phil McNulty?
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'Only one team tried to play' - Arsenal earn the points, but not plaudits By Phil McNulty Chief football writer at The Amex Stadium Published 23 minutes ago 70 Comments Arsenal are now firmly cast as the villains of the Premier League title race - but this frenzied night at Brighton might just be the one that ultimately makes them victors. The Gunners would, in all likelihood, end up as unpopular, unloved champions as their hard-nosed approach comes under increasingly unflattering scrutiny. And more came their way after a contentious eyesore of a game settled by Bukayo Saka's early goal, one that saw Arsenal 's lead at the top of the table extended to seven points to create a potentially decisive advantage. Will Arsenal and manager Mikel Arteta care if the means justify the end of a 22-year wait to win the Premier League? Unlikely. Arteta's side have been criticised for what outside observers regard as their employment of dark arts and an over-reliance on set-piece expertise to maintain their position at the top of the table. And the 1-0 victory at The Amex was the very definition of ugly. In fact to describe it as "ugly" is an insult to ugly. When the half-time whistle arrived their xG was just 0.01 and the second half was hardly an improvement given it took until the 88th minute for Kai Havertz to register their second effort on target. The final result was the 10th time this season they have won by a single goal. It was certainly not pleasing on the eye to Brighton 's head coach Fabian Hurzeler, who spent almost the entire game enraged by Arsenal 's strategy and what unfolded before him. And yet, as the Gunners fans reacted joyously at the final whistle to this win and also at Manchester City 's failure to beat Nottingham Forest , this beast of a triumph might turn out to be a beauty. As Arsenal celebrated and City slipped, this felt like it may well be the defining night in this tense battle to the Premier League finishing line. This is not a popularity contest....
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