A L B I O N G A Z E T T E - ( xxxiv )
4 MARCH 2026
BRIGHTON & HOVE ALBION 0 ARSENAL 1
PREMIER LEAGUE -
at the AMERICAN EXPRESS STADIUM, FALMER.
Matchday 29 saw Albion welcome League leaders Arsenal to the Amex for a Premier League fixture, the match being televised "live" by TNT Sports 2 and broadcast by Talksport and BBC Radio Sussex Sport.
Last time out, the Albion had recorded a fine 2-1 home win over Nottingham Forest in the Premier on the 1 March and for the visit of Arsenal the Albion made three changes to their starting line-up from the Forest game, with Olivier Boscagli, Carlos Baleba and Georginio Rutter coming in for Lewis Dunk (injured), James Milner and Danny Welbeck.
In their previous outing, the Arsenal had enjoyed a 2-1 win at home to Chelsea in the Premier on the 1 March and for their visit to the Amex, Manager Mikel Arteta made two changes to his starting line-up from the Chelsea game, with Cristhian Mosquera and Gabriel Martinelli replacing William Saliba (injured) and former Albion player Leandro Trossard. In the Arsenal line-up was former Albion striker Viktor Gyokeres.
Earlier this season in the reverse fixture at the Emirates Stadium on the 27 December 2025 it finished 2-1 to the Arsenal, with their goals coming from Martin Odegaard (14m) and a Georginio Rutter (52m, own goal), whilst Albion's goal was netted by Diego Gomez (64m).
In their meetings in the Premier League last season the teams drew twice. On the 31 August 2024 it finished 1-1 at the Emirates, with Kai Havertz (38m) netting for the Gunners and Joao Pedro (58m) replying for the Seagulls. There was a similar 1-1 score-line at the Amex on the 4 January 2025, with Ethan Nwaneri (16m) scoring for Arsenal and Joao Pedro (61m, penalty) equalising for the Albion.
With just two minutes on the clock, Albion missed a great opportunity of taking the lead when Arsenal keeper David Raya's misplaced pass out from the back fell to Carlos Baleba some 25 yards out, the Albion midfielder lobbed a shot towards the vacant net but to his dismay Gunners defender Gabriel Magalhaes got back to nod the ball away from his goal for a corner.
On 9 minutes the visitors took the lead when Jurrien Timber's pass found Bukayo Saka on the Arsenal right, the England winger drifted past Ferdi Kadioglu before unleashing a left-foot shot which took a deflection off Baleba and wrong-footed Albion keeper Bart Verbruggen before entering the Seagulls net.
A nice way for Saka to celebrate his 300th first-team appearance for Arsenal. 0-1.
After an entertaining opening 10 minutes the game developed into a sterile affair, with the Albion failing to create any decent chances and with Arsenal content to hang on to their lead. The rest of the half was notable for Gabriel Magalhaes blocking a Kaoru Mitoma effort on goal and Mitoma inadvertently getting in the way of a goal-bound Georginio Rutter shot.
Half-time 0-1.
Yankuba Minteh was introduced as a substitute for the injured Mitoma at the start of the second-half and the substitute's fine run ended with a pass to Rutter who induced keeper Raya to make a good save from his close-range shot. Thereafter Mats Wieffer and Jack Hinshelwood had their headers saved by Raya, when they might have done better. A mistake by Baleba enabled substitute Kai Havertz to race clear on the Albion goal but Baleba recovered to block the resultant shot on goal. The rest of the half didn't see any chances created by either side as Arsenal continued to control the proceedings, much to the displeasure of Albion Head Coach Fabian Hurzeler and the Albion supporters.
Final-score 0-1.
Match stats:
Albion had 11 attempts at goal, with 3 on target and won 4 corners, free-kicks conceded - 14.
Arsenal had 7 attempts at goal, with 2 on target and won 3 corners, free-kicks conceded - 12.
VERDICT - Apart from the opening 10 minutes, the remaining 80 minutes were pretty mundane. The Arsenal didn't play well but controlled the game and picked up the three points. Head Coach Fabian Hurzeler and the Albion supporters were not happy but in fairness the Albion hardly landed a glove on the Arsenal. Tip to Fabian - stop moaning about the opposition and concentrate on coaching your team to win football matches.
Next up for the Seagulls, a tough trip to Sunderland on the 14 March.
Albion line-up (4-2-3-1):- Bart VERBRUGGEN; Mats WIEFFER (Joel VELTMAN 77), Jan Paul VAN HECKE, Olivier BOSCAGLI, Ferdi KADIOGLU; Carlos BALEBA (Yasin AYARI 78), Pascal GROSS (Capt); Diego GOMEZ (Harry HOWELL 77), Jack HINSHELWOOD (Danny WELBECK 69), Kaoru MITOMA (Yankuba MINTEH 46); Georginio RUTTER.
Subs not used: Jason STEELE (G/K), Maxim DE CUYPER, James MILNER, Matt O'RILEY.
Arsenal line-up (4-2-3-1):- David RAYA; Jurrien TIMBER, Cristhian MOSQUERA (Riccardo CALAFIORI 64), Gabriel MAGALHAES, Piero HINCAPIE; Martin ZUBIMENDI (Cristian NORGAARD 80), Declan RICE; Bukayo SAKA (Capt), Eberechi EZE, Gabriel MARTINELLI (Leandro TROSSARD 60); Viktor GYOKERES (Kai HAVERTZ 59).
Subs not used: Kepa ARRIZABALAGA (G/K), Myles LEWIS-SKELLY, Max DOWMAN, Noni MADUEKA, Gabriel JESUS.
Referee: Chris Kavanagh (Leicestershire).
Fourth Official: David Webb.
VAR Official: Michael Salisbury.
Yellow Cards: Albion: 4 - Olivier Boscagli, Ferdi Kadioglu, Yasin Ayari, Diego Gomez. Arsenal: 1 - Cristhian Mosquera.
Possession: Albion - 60%. Arsenal - 40%.
BBC Sport Player of the Match: Gabriel Magalhaes (Arsenal).
Attendance: 31575.