LONDON — Arsenal climbed to second place in the Premier League standings following a 1-0 victory over Ipswich at home on Friday.
Under the guidance of coach Mikel Arteta, the team is currently six points adrift of league leaders Liverpool, who have played one less match.
Despite Ipswich being second from the bottom and having secured two wins in their last three away fixtures, they struggled from the outset at the Emirates Stadium.
Notably, the visiting team failed to register a single touch in Arsenal’s penalty area during the first half. Although there were signs of improvement from Ipswich after halftime, it was Arsenal that maintained control of the match, primarily directed by Declan Rice in the midfield.
The lone goal of the evening was scored by Kai Havertz around the midpoint of the first half, as he converted a cross delivered by Leandro Trossard.
Despite numerous attempts from Havertz, Rice, Mikel Merino, Martin Odegaard, and Gabriel Jesus to increase Arsenal’s score, they were unsuccessful.
Havertz commented on the struggles faced, stating, “Every team is tough to break down. They fight for each other and at the end, we’re very proud of the win.”
Arsenal now sits a point ahead of third-place Chelsea and two points in front of surprise package Nottingham Forest, which holds the fourth spot.
In another match on the south coast, Brighton faced Brentford, finishing in a goalless draw that extended Brighton’s winless streak in the league to six games.
Although Brighton had the majority of opportunities, they failed to convert them into goals, resulting in a disappointing outcome for the home side. Julio Enciso was particularly unfortunate, missing several chances to score throughout the match.
Brentford, sharing one of the poorest away records in the league alongside Southampton, has suffered seven losses and two draws, and their struggles were evident in this lackluster performance.
Early in the match, Brentford had a goal by Yoane Wissa disallowed for offside, and while they appeared to assert themselves more in the second half, they could not apply sufficient pressure on Icelandic goalkeeper Hakon Valdimarsson, who made his Premier League debut after Mark Flekken exited the game with a thigh injury just before halftime.
A bright moment for Brighton was the return of winger Solly March, who made a late substitute appearance after being sidelined for 14 months due to a knee injury sustained against Manchester City.
The result leaves Brighton in 10th place in the standings with 26 points, just one position and two points clear of Brentford.
