Arsenal move SEVEN points clear as Bukayo Saka sees off Brighton - 5 talking points

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Arsenal have extended their lead at the top of the Premier League table to seven points after beating Brighton.

Bukayo Saka gave Arsenal the perfect start as his deflected effort found the net. David Raya produced a brilliant stop to keep out Georginio Rutter in the second half.

It was an attritional game from then on, with Mikel Arteta 's side forced to defend to close out victory. But close out victory they did, with the win seeing them extend their advantage at the top of the table to seven points, with Manchester City failing to get over the line against Nottingham Forest .

Here are all of the talking points from the Amex Stadium:

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Arsenal were hit with some bad news before kick-off, with William Saliba succumbing to an ankle injury he picked up against Chelsea . He was left out of the squad entirely.

Cristhian Mosquera was named in his place but it was a difficult evening for the Spaniard. He was booked early on for a foul on Georginio Rutter, while he might have felt fortunate to have got away with another mistimed challenge on the Frenchman.

He was eventually replaced just after the hour-mark by Riccardo Calafiori.

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With Saliba out, the onus really was on Gabriel to help his fellow defenders through the game. And he did that in the opening few moments as goalkeeper Raya made an uncharacteristic error.

In attempting to play out from the back, he presented the ball straight to Carlos Baleba, who went for an audacious chip. Luckily for Arsenal , Gabriel had the foresight to stand on the goalline and was in the right place to head away.

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While Baleba could have played a key role in an opening Brighton goal, he then gave the Gunners a helping hand. With Saka - who was making his 300th appearance for Arsenal - given far too much space down the right flank, the England man cut inside and set his sights on goal.

His effort took a touch off of Baleba, beating Verbruggen all ends up. The goal represented Saka's ninth in all competitions this season, having also netted at Wolves last month.

England boss Thomas Tuchel will certainly be delighted with his recent form as he attempts to pick his World Cup squad over the coming months.

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Arsenal were certainly made to work for their victory against Brighton, with the Seagulls having had a number of chances.

The best of those arguably fell to Rutter, who saw his curling effort just about parried away by Raya. Mats Wieffer also had a wonderful opportunity to nod home but could not get enough power into his header to beat the Spaniard.

It's not very often that Manchester City and Arsenal will be playing at the same time between now and the end of the season. So news from the Etihad will have been celebrated by those in the Arsenal dressing room at the Amex.

The Gunners are now overwhelming favourites to claim the title. Of course, the momentum could still swing, with Guardiola's side having a game in hand, while the two teams are also set to come together. But Arsenal certainly have an overhwhelming advantage as it stands.

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