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A sparkling performance from Alexis Sanchez helped Arsenal to a comfortable victory in an enjoyably open match
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Sun 1 Oct 2017 08.50 EDTFirst published on Sun 1 Oct 2017 06.00 EDT
Nacho Monreal celebrates scoring the opening goal.
Nacho Monreal celebrates scoring the opening goal. Photograph: Zemanek/BPI/REX/Shutterstock
Nacho Monreal celebrates scoring the opening goal. Photograph: Zemanek/BPI/REX/Shutterstock

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Full time: Arsenal 2-0 Brighton

Peep peep! Arsenal finish an excellent month [it’s October now you eejit - ed.] with a win that takes them up to fifth. Alexis Sanchez was ridiculously good, particularly in the second half, and Nacho Monreal and Alex Iwobi scored the goals. Brighton showed enough at both ends of the pitch to suggest they have a decent chance of avoiding relegation. Thanks for your company, bye!

Cech shows appreciation to the fans after the final whistle. Photograph: Julian Finney/Getty Images
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87 min Another excellent inswinging cross from Gross skims off the head of Mustafi and goes just wide of the far post. Knockaert’s corner is flicked on by Propper and cleared crucially by Bellerin.

85 min Cech comes a long way from goal to punch the ball off the head of Duffy. Arsenal have been under some unexpected pressure in the last few minutes.

84 min Gross puts in an excellent cross in from the left, and Murray gets in front of Mustafi to flash a header into the side netting at the near post. That was a pretty good effort.

76 min Iwobi’s goal ended the contest at a stroke. Since then Brighton have offered little in attack.

76 min A double change for Brighton: Murray and Knockaert replaces Izquierdo and Brown.

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75 min A scurrying surge from Sanchez is ended by a foul from Dunk 25 yards out. He has been so good since half-time. But he’s ot good enough to score the free-kick, which is whipped over the bar.

Sanchez hits the free-kick. Photograph: Eddie Keogh/Reuters
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67 min Sanchez plays a nice through ball to Lacazette, who is denied by an outstanding recovery tackle from Dunk. He has had a fine game at the back.

Dunk blocks the shot from Lacazette. Photograph: Tony O'Brien/Action Images via Reuters
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65 min Ryan did actually get a touch on that shot from Sanchez in the 61st minute, though it would still have gone in without Dunk’s touch.

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64 min These days, sports fans are encouraged to learn a minimum of five things from every match. I’m not sure we’ve learned anything from this, but Arsenal’s next five league games should tell us a bit more about their prospects for the season: Watford (A), Everton (A), Swansea (H), Man City (A), Spurs (H).

61 min The brilliant Sanchez has a shot cleared off the line by Dunk. He ran infield from the left at Duffy, beat him with ease and sidefooted the ball across Ryan. It was sneaking in the corner until Dunk appeared from nowhere and deflected it just wide of the post. From the resuling corner, Kolasinac’s towering header is cleared off the line by March. Sanchez has been entirely magnificent since half-time.

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59 min “How many games has Iwobi played?” says Andrew Hurley. “I think his time can still come.”

Yeah, I would argue that better players have had bigger flaws at the age of 21. I think he’s an excellent squad player.

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GOAL! Arsenal 2-0 Brighton (Iwobi 56)

That’s a lovely goal. Sanchez, surrounded on the edge of the area, backheels the ball ingeniously into space for Iwobi, who drives it high past Ryan.

Iwobi scores Arsenal’s second. Photograph: Julian Finney/Getty Images
And celebrates. Photograph: Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images
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55 min Dunk makes an excellent interception on the halfway line, strides forward like Morten Olsen and drives a strong low shot that is well held by Cech down to his right.

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54 min Sanchez’s teasing inswinging cross is headed towards his own goal by the stretching Duffy, who is relieved to see the keeper Ryan claim the ball comfortably. Duffy had to go for it because Ramsey was behind him waiting to score.

49 min Sanchez eases a pass into Lacazette, whose snapshot is excellently blocked by Duffy. Lacazette is so sharp around the box. He’s very good at hitting shots before the keeper is ready.

47 min “I’m inclined to agree that for all his talent Iwobi is sorely lacking in end product,” says Matt Loten. “He seems unfortunately to be following a familiar pattern for starlets at Arsenal in the late Wenger years: plenty of chances, flashes of brilliance, but lacking the drive (or managerial guidance) to truly explore the outer reaches of his talent. Possibly Bellerin aside, has there been a young player (bought or Academy-raised) since Fabregas who you could look at and say ‘yes, he pushed himself to be the absolute best player he could be’? Perhaps Wilshere would have without the injuries, but Walcott, Chamberlain, Chambers, Song, Coquelin, Song, and even Aaron Ramsey, you could argue, have burst onto the scene and ultimately fizzled out or stagnated.

Some would argue that Yaya Sanogo fulfilled his potential, though that wouldn’t compromise disprove your argument.

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Half-time chit-chat

“On the subject of snappily named back fours, didn’t Charlton once field a defence that read Young-Fish-Costa-Fortune?” writes, er, Panini Cheapstakes. “Also, my own Saturday team could once field Burn, Burn, Birnie and Fry - surely the hottest back line in all football.”

“Celtic’s Weir/Tebily/Scheidt defensive line summed up the John Barnes era,” says Martin McKeefry.

“Can we talk about nominative determinism?” says Ian Copestake. “If so my query is whether the wonderfully named Izquierdo does indeed play on the left?”

When Arsenal of Islington meet Brighton of Brighton, they all play on the left.

Half time: Arsenal 1-0 Brighton

That was an enjoyable half between two neat footballing sides. Monreal scored, Lacazette and March hit the post with storming efforts, and Ryan made an excellent save from Ramsey. See you in 10 minutes for the second half.

45 min Bong marches forward from the back and slips a ball down the side of the area to Izquierdo, who holds Mustafi off and plays a short pass back to Propper. He doesn’t have much room to work with and his attempted curler flies over the bar.

43 min “Has anyone ever written a sentence where the words “Iwobi shot” and “comfortable save” don’t appear together?” says Martin McKeefry. “Just checking.”

In his defence, he’s 21 years old. I could barely do my tie up at that age.

42 min Cech makes a mess of a corner but gets away with it and Arsenal break in numbers at devastating speed. Bellerin and Kolasinac tee up Ramsey, whose close-range shot is brilliantly saved by Ryan. He was going the wrong way and stuck out his right foot to divert it wide.

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