FA Premier League
BRIGHTON AND HOVE ALBION 0
ARSENAL 1 (Lacazette 66)

IN our worst winter, the fact we can watch football at all hours is surely some relief to the locked down nation. Imagine if all there was to watch on the box was clip shows and ‘celebrity’ versions of popular game shows with the constantly-encountered Shirley Ballas and Tom Allen.

With the coronavirus slipping into several Premier League camps over Christmas, including Arsenal, however, the gluttons among us have reason to fear that the non-stop football may soon be brought to another crashing halt.

That all said, the first half of Brighton and Arsenal’s twixmas match-up could have driven anybody to watching somebody off Made In Chelsea playing Catchphrase or any other loosely labelled celebrity messing up a cooking challenge for our desperate entertainment instead. It was turgid, turkey stuff.

The bottom line will always be that the Gunners left here with three points, a precious present for manager Mikel Arteta to add to the Boxing Day success over Chelsea, but there were warnings for anybody convinced the team has ‘turned the corner’.

During that first period, Arsenal waded through the pitch as if securing a draw would be a pleasant enough conclusion.

It’s easy to dismiss players for passing the ball sideways when sometimes it’s the right thing to do, but Mohamed Elneny will start getting a reputation if he does not also look forward. Between the Egyptian and Granit Xhaka, the Gunners looked familiarly stodgy.

Chances were at a premium and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was worryingly out of sorts. This happens to players sometimes; the fact it has happened so soon after the signing of a lucrative new contract has seen some keyboard warriors among the Arsenal support start to curdle.

In the end, Arsenal’s urgency came from a 19-year-old and a 20-year-old. Bukayo Saka has consistently been the most promising player in the team this season, showing up better paid players with his drive.

And Arteta may have finally realised – it has taken some time – that more creativity is needed; he won’t play Mesut Ozil but has now clocked that Emile Smith Rowe offers more options than Joe Willock.

Nearly all of Arsenal’s best moments, and they pushed through the gears after the half-time orange squash, came from Saka or Smith Rowe, or both.

When Alexandre Lacazette was introduced on 66 minutes, replacing a game but fading Gabriel Martinelli, it was Saka who laid on an instant chance.

The French striker had only been on the pitch for 20 seconds when Saka rushed from the halfway line, beat Dan Burn – a centre back at heart, stuck out wide – for pace and tucked a pass into his path. Lacazette took one touch to control and another to slam the ball into the bottom corner.

The first two congratulatory hugs came from Saka and Smith Rowe. What was noticeable is that the senior players more than respect the young men’s promise.

Equally interesting is that, in return, Smith Rowe at times wasn’t afraid to show his frustration when Aubameyang swerved a shot wide or misplaced a cross, when a pass to him may have been preferable.

Rightly, they have earned their place in the starting eleven and Arteta slowly seems to be understanding which of the young guns are more likely to serve him well. He needs to know this stuff if Arsenal are going to salvage something from the wreckage of Autumn.

Doubly so, given Arsenal were stuck running the ball into the corners in the final five minutes at the Amex Stadium. There were bright spots for sure, signs of improvement, but it was still a grinding battle in the seaside cold.

Brighton’s lack of invention in the final third was a godsend for Arteta. Bernd Leno was tested by a low shot from Davy Propper but the Seagulls at times only offered catching practise for the goalkeeper. One of the corners that bobbled around in the penalty area may have gone anywhere, but true scares were limited.

‘This period has been so important,” said Arteta afterwards. “We had a tough week, it wasn’t so much about performances but about results yet you need results to start the confidence.”

He added: “With two wins, everybody is in a better mood. We’ve managed to get through this period while maintaining our team spirit and cohesion.

“It has been frustrating with defeats and that can affect the team but hopefully we can now go on a run in a positive direction.”

Virus permitted, matches against West Brom, Newcastle and Crystal Palace to start 2021 lie ahead.

BRIGHTON AND HOVE ALBION: Sanchez, Veltman, Burn, Webster, Dunk, Bernardo, Bissouma, Gross, Propper (March 68), Jahanbakhsh (Trossard 75), Mac Allister (Maupay 67)
SUBS NOT USED: Connolly, Molumby, Steele, Welbeck, White, Zeqiri

ARSENAL: Leno, Bellerin, Tierney, Mari, Holding, Xhaka, Elneny, Saka (Ceballos 81), Smith Rowe (Maitland-Niles 89), Martinelli (Lacazette 66) , Aubameyang
SUBS NOT USED: Maitland-Niles, Mustafi, Pepe, Runarsson, Soares, Willock