Almost every question that has been asked of Arsenal’s Premier League title credentials has been answered by Mikel Arteta’s young guns, and their only complaint from Sunday’s 1-0 win over Chelsea is that the margin of victory at Stamford Bridge was not greater.
Arsenal kept former captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and the rest of the Chelsea attack at bay with ease, and Gabriel Magalhaes was on hand to poke home Bukayo Saka’s goal-bound corner in the 63rd minute to see the Gunners restore their two-point lead over Manchester City at the top.
More and more Gooners are now starting to believe that a charge for Premier League glory can be sustained, but Arteta’s side must now turn their attention to the EFL Cup, a competition that they have only won twice in their history and most recently in the 1992-93 season.
The North London club did make it to the semi-finals last year, impressively holding Liverpool to a goalless draw at Anfield in the first leg with 10 men before losing 2-0 at the Emirates, and not since the 2014-15 season have they gone out in the third round.
Arteta’s side enter the midweek contest on the back of three straight wins and three straight clean sheets in all tournaments, and their streak of victories at the Emirates now stands at 12 matches, but Brighton should be no pushovers by any stretch.
Five goals were on the menu when Brighton & Hove Albion put Chelsea to the sword two weekends ago, and another quintet of strikes flew in at Molineux in the latest round of Premier League matches, but this one was a much more close-run affair.
Adam Lallana and Karou Mitoma struck for the Seagulls either side of Goncalo Guedes and Ruben Neves’s efforts, but after Nelson Semedo was sent off for a last-man foul on Mitoma, Brighton took advantage to finish through Pascal Grossin the 83rd minute.
Maintaining an unlikely European charge will undoubtedly be the goal for Roberto De Zerbi as his side lie sixth in the rankings after 13 matches, but a deep cup run would also be welcomed by the Amex faithful, whose side have never gone all the way in the EFL Cup.
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The Seagulls have suffered two fourth-round exits to Manchester United and Leicester City in the past two seasons, and a rotated side comfortably saw off Forest Green Rovers 3-0 in the second round, but Brighton travel to the Emirates having conceded at least twice in each of their last five away matches.
Arsenal failed to win either of their Premier League meetings with Brighton last year – drawing 0-0 at the Amex before a 2-1 loss at the Emirates back in April –
and the visitors may possess that little glimmer of hope given how Arteta’s second-string side have failed to dominate games in the Europa League this term.
