- Arsenal defeated Brighton to return to the top of the Premier League
- Bukayo Saka broke the deadlock from the penalty spot at the Amex Stadium
- Jurgen Klopp has the eye of the tiger! He hasn’t seemed so confident since 2019. Listen to the It all starts podcast
Bukayo Saka insisted Arsenal will not make the same mistakes as last season, when they blew an eight-point lead and were pipped to the title by Manchester City.
The Gunners swept aside Brighton on the south coast on Sunday evening to return to the top of the Premier League in style.
“We’re all buzzing inside,” said Saka, who fired Arsenal ahead from the penalty spot in the 33rd minute before Kai Havertz and Leandro Trossard added second-half goals.
‘We know that victory will put us back on top. We are building momentum,” he said.
‘Last season wasn’t great, but it was great in the sense that we learned our lesson. We need to put these kinds of games to bed. This year we feel more at ease. I feel like the team is better.
Bukayo Saka believes Arsenal have learned a lesson from last season’s title implosion
The Gunners recorded a 3-0 win at Brighton to return to the top of the Premier League
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‘From goalkeeper to striker, you saw Kai how hard he works. We know how we are going to handle it. We’re going to win, that’s the mentality we have to have.”
Arsenal are now one point ahead of Liverpool and Manchester City, but the Merseysiders still have a game in hand: Sunday against Manchester United.
Mikel Arteta’s men have now kept five consecutive clean sheets away from home in the league for the first time since 1997. They also scored the most goals (75) and conceded the fewest (24).
“Really happy, a big achievement,” said Arteta. “They haven’t lost here since August and that tells the story. We were excellent.
‘We have shown a lot of quality, we are really connected with the ball. We were so disciplined without the ball.
Mikel Arteta’s side let an eight-point lead slip last year as Manchester City lifted the trophy
Arteta admitted he was happy with the win on the south coast and praised his team’s discipline
‘We prepared ourselves because they did something similar against Liverpool. We are older. We have experienced many moments together and the chemistry you build in the team is important.
‘We have also signed some great players. We have experienced it and that helps.’
Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi was left reflecting on the battle to contend with an extensive injury list.
He added: “We played a good first half and played well in the second half until the second goal.
‘After that we didn’t play very well and we deserved to lose against one of the best teams in the Premier League. We cannot compete against Arsenal with our injured players.
‘We are in a difficult moment because we are playing without many injured players. It is difficult.’