The 1–0 victory away at Brighton came as Nottingham drew 2–2 at Manchester City.
Suddenly Arsenal jumped to the top and were seven points behind City, who, however, had one game in hand.
Bukayo Saka fired a shot that took a slight deflection off a defender but was saved by goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen.
It was a dream opening for Arsenal after just nine minutes, and much needed considering the lackluster performance that followed. Brighton led the game for a long time.
The national team striker Viktor Gyökeres did almost nothing up front and was substituted after 59 minutes. Fellow Sweden international Yasin Ayari, back in Brighton's squad after a month out with injury, came on with fifteen minutes left.
