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Arsenal proving to be worthy title contender with Brighton win

Published

4 years ago

December 31, 2022

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Arsenal moved seven points clear at the top of the Premier League with a deserved victory over Brighton in a hugely entertaining match on New Year’s Eve.

The Gunners took full advantage of Manchester City’s surprise draw against struggling Everton earlier on Saturday to increase their buffer at the top of the table.

Bukayo Saka opened the scoring inside two minutes with a composed touch and finish and Mikel Arteta’s side never looked back on the south coast.

The outstanding Martin Odegaard added a second goal before half-time on the second phase from a corner and it appeared to be game over soon after the second half kicked off, with Eddie Nketiah tapping in a rebound after Gabriel Martinelli stung the palms of Robert Sanchez.

Kaoru Mitoma hit back with a cool finish to cap off a flowing Brighton move and make it 3-1, but Martinelli soon raced onto Odegaard’s sublime pass to poke in Arsenal’s fourth on the counter-attack.

Evan Ferguson outmuscled William Saliba to beat Aaron Ramsdale from a long ball to give Brighton a glimmer at 4-2. A second Mitoma goal was then ruled out for offside as Arsenal survived a brief scare to see out the game to seal the crucial three points. Here are Mirror Football’s talking points from the match.

The Gunners came into the match with some extra incentive following Manchester City ’s 1-1 draw against Everton and wasted no time in making their mark. It took them just one minute and six seconds to find the back of the net courtesy of Saka.

The goal was Arsenal’s fastest in the Premier League since Theo Walcott scored against QPR in May 2013. It was Saka’s sixth league goal of the season and ensured that Arsenal maintained their record of scoring in every league game this season. It was a perfect start, which gave Mikel Arteta’s side a platform to build on.

There was a time when Arteta’s decision to hand Odegaard the captain’s armband was being quietly questioned. Those days are now long gone, with Odegaard looking every bit the player he was hyped to be back when Real Madrid won the race to sign him as a teenager.

Odegaard now has seven goals and six assists in 15 Premier League games this season – and his contributions have come at crucial times. Having netted twice in the 2-0 win at Wolves in November, the Norwegian now has three goals in two away games.

While his goal might have been fortunate, with his bouncing finish going over a crowded box, there were plenty of other moments that displayed Odegaard’s genius. His drag-back and nutmegs on Lewis Dunk to play in Martinelli in the first half was delicious and his first-time through-ball for Martinelli’s goal was visionary.

The injury to Gabriel Jesus at the World Cup could have been a major blow to Arsenal’s chances of winning the Premier League for the first time since 2003/04. But the early signs are that Arteta’s team have the depth to maintain their early-season form.

Nketiah has been made to wait this season after deciding to stay at Arsenal and sign a new contract in the summer, but he is taking his chance now. It is easy to forget now that Jesus had gone 11 games without a goal across all competitions for Arsenal before going to Qatar with Brazil.

Having netted against Brighton in November, his replacement has now scored in each of his past three games. Nketiah has a very creditable five goals in nine starts in all competitions and has shown his poacher instincts. After scoring a wonderful goal against West Ham on Boxing Day, the 23-year-old gobbled up a rebound to make the game safe versus Brighton.

They may have lost, but Brighton fans can still reflect on a hugely memorable year as they go into 2023. The Seagulls finished ninth in the Premier League in May and finish the year one place better, in eighth, despite losing to the league’s best side on New Year’s Eve.

The decision-makers at Brighton deserve a lot of credit for their current position. Losing Graham Potter to Chelsea in September could easily have derailed their season, but that has been far from the case, with Roberto De Zerbi fitting in perfectly to the team’s style. Seagulls fans only need look at bottom side Southampton for evidence of how difficult managerial changes can be.

Brighton’s first goal here showed off the pass-and-move playing style, with Pascal Gross playing in Mitoma with a lovely reverse-pass before the Japanese midfielder tucked the ball away with aplomb. Ferguson then took advantage of some hesitant defending from Saliba to grab his first Premier League goal.

They didn’t count for anything on this occasion, but Brighton have no reason to be dispirited.

An away game at Brighton is a tough assignment. They had lost on their previous two visits to the AMEX, in April and November in the Premier League and Carabao Cup respectively, and needed to turn that form around.

Much of Arsenal’s success this season stems from their consistency. Arteta has been able to pick very similar sides week after week, with the relative youth of the star players key to that.

There is still an awful long way to go, but a seven-point leading going into the New Year is quite the advantage.

Related Topics:Arsenal Brighton Premier League

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Sports

Nine African teams in World Cup last-32 round

Published

2 weeks ago

June 28, 2026

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Following the conclusion of the group stage, nine African countries have confirmed their places in round 32 of the 2026 World Cup.

Algeria and DR Congo are the latest teams from the continent to seal their last-32 ticket at the ongoing competition.

They join Morocco, South Africa, Cote d’Ivoire, Egypt, Cape Verde, Ghana and Senegal in the business end of the competition, breaking the previous record of just two African teams at a World Cup knockout round.

Tunisia is the only country on the continent to qualify for the World Cup, but failed to progress beyond the group stage.

DR Congo qualified after earning their first-ever World Cup victory, 3-1 over Uzbekistan, in their last group stage match on Saturday in Atlanta. Yoane Wissa’s brace and Fislon Mayele’s strike helped the Leopard turn around a game that started disastrously for them.

The victory takes DR Congo to the top of the eight best third-placed teams, and they will face England next on Wednesday.

Algeria also managed to squeeze into the last 32 through the best losers’ route. A 3-3 draw against Austria in their final group game ensured they displaced Iran for the final slot.

Ghana also clung to the third-placed ladder to advance despite their 2-1 loss to Croatia in their last Group game. The Black Stars will face Colombia in the next round on July 3.

ROUND OF 32 FIXTURES (All Nigerian time)

South Africa vs Canada — June 28 — 8 pm — Los Angeles Stadium

Brazil vs Japan — June 29 — 6 pm — Houston Stadium

Germany vs Paraguay — June 29 — 9:30 pm — Boston Stadium

Netherlands vs Morocco — June 30 — 2 am — Estadio Monterrey

Ivory Coast vs Norway — June 30 — 6 pm — Dallas Stadium

France vs Sweden — June 30 — 10 pm — New York New Jersey Stadium

Mexico vs Ecuador — July 1 — 2 am — Mexico City Stadium

England vs DR Congo — July 1 — 5 am — Atlanta Stadium

Belgium vs Senegal — July 1 — 9 pm — Seattle Stadium

United States vs Bosnia and Herzegovina — July 2 — 1 am — San Francisco Bay Area Stadium

Spain vs Austria — July 2 — 6 pm — Los Angeles Stadium

Portugal vs Croatia — July 3 — 12 am — Toronto Stadium

Switzerland vs Algeria — July 3 — 4 am — BC Place, Vancouver

Australia vs Egypt — July 3 — 7 pm — Dallas Stadium

Argentina vs Cape Verde — July 3 — 11 pm — Miami Stadium

Colombia vs Ghana — July 4 — 2:30 am — Kansas City Stadium

Sports

Athletics Open: Amusan wins gold, sets new record in Taiwan

Published

1 month ago

June 6, 2026

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Nigerian and world women’s 100m hurdles world record holder, Tobi Amusan,on Saturday won the women’s 100m hurdles gold at the New Taipei Athletics Open in Taiwan.

Amusan struck gold ahead of Taiwanese duo Bo Ya Zhang, who settled for second place in 13.17s, and Yi Po-an took third place in 13.37s.

The 29-year-old’s winning time of 12.72s is also a new meeting record, chalking off 0.08s off the previous mark of 12.80s held by Nia Ali, US Olympic silver medalist and former world champion.

Amusan was dominant in the qualifiers for the final, blowing away the field in Heat 2, and continued the form in the final to deliver a swashbuckling race that thrilled the crowd.

She took the lead outright after the fourth hurdle, leaving Zhang behind.

The three-time Senior Africa Athletics Championship winner crossed the finish line before the last competing athlete cleared the final hurdle, to the amazement of screaming spectators.

It is the second consecutive race Amusan will break a meeting record this athletics season, she also broke her meeting record in the women’s 100m hurdles event at the Rabat Diamond League.

She has won three of five races this season, and has not failed to claim a podium finish.

Sports

Arsenal win EPL title after 22 years

Published

2 months ago

May 19, 2026

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Arsenal are English Premier League (EPL) champions after Manchester City failed to win at Bournemouth.

Pep Guardiola’s Man City drew 1-1 with Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium to hand Arsenal an unassailable four-point lead with just one match remaining to the end of the season.

The Gunners win the EPL title for the first time in 22 years, since the legendary Invincible side won it in the 2003/04 season.

In the club’s 100th season without relegation from the EPL, the club will celebrate its centenary participation with a league title won on the back of a record 28 EPL wins that surpassed the 26 wins recorded by the Invincibles. The defence prevented opponents from registering a shot on target in six matches, equaling a 23-year league record, and also scored a record 17 goals from corner kicks.

Mikel Arteta’s tough side has led the table for most of the season before a late mini-collapse, and Man City’s late surge in form nearly threatened their title ambition for a second season in a row.

City’s late resurgence, however, was initially stunned by Everton in early May and completely collapsed against Bournemouth.

Guardiola’s side visited the Vitality Stadium aware that any result other than a victory would seal Arsenal’s title. But they lacked the execution for the mission after falling to a wonderful strike from Junior Kroupi in the first half.

City were only kept in the game by Bournemouth’s profligacy in front of goal. When Erling Haaland’s equaliser was squeezed home in the eleventh hour of the game, even the most faithful City supporter knew it was too little, too late.

Arsenal and Arteta secured the league earlier than they would have predicted, giving City a prodigious title run-in.

The league triumph is Arteta’s second major title with the North London club since joining in December 2019, adding to the English FA Cup trophy won within six months of his tenure in May 2020.

The 44-year-old Spaniard wins his fourth title overall and can win his fifth — and third major trophy — with victory over Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League final next weekend.