Brighton vs. Arsenal: Score, Grades and Reaction from FA Cup Game
Theo Walcott and Mesut Ozil returned to the scoresheet as Arsenal avoided an FA Cup upset and advanced to the fifth round with a 3-2 victory at Brighton and Hove Albion on Sunday.
Walcott, making his second start since returning from a long-term injury lay-off, fired Arsenal in front with a second-minute goal, his first for the club in more than a year. Ozil, starting for the first time since October following a knee injury, doubled the lead in the 24th minute.
It was an impressive first half from the visitors, inspired by the dynamic Tomas Rosicky, but Brighton pulled a goal back in the 50th minute as Chris O'Grady picked out the bottom corner. Rosicky then turned goalscorer to restore Arsenal's two-goal lead at 3-1 in the 59th minute, but Sam Baldock hit back for Brighton 16 minutes later to set up a tense finish.
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While the match ended in a decidedly more stressful fashion than Arsenal would have liked, manager Arsene Wenger will care only about the result. With the win, the Gunners are now in the last 16 of the FA Cup and appear to be in good position to retain the trophy they lifted last May.
Elsewhere in the FA Cup this weekend, the competition's famed romance had been on full display as multiple lower-league sides defeated Premier League opposition. Notably, Manchester City lost at home to Middlesbrough, and Chelsea went ahead by two goals before losing at home to Bradford City.
Those results meant Arsenal are one of the highest-rated sides left in the competition, along with Manchester United and Liverpool—both of whom face fourth-round replays in the coming weeks.
First, though, Arsenal will turn their attention back to the Premier League. Up next for the Gunners is a home match against Aston Villa next Sunday. Brighton, currently facing a relegation fight in the Championship, play at Blackpool on Saturday.
Within moments of kick-off, however, Arsenal seemingly put to rest any fears of an upset. In just the second minute, Calum Chambers found space on the right before playing a cross into the box for Walcott. With his first touch, Walcott controlled expertly. With his second, he swept past Brighton goalkeeper David Stockdale for the opening goal.
Holding a quick 1-0 lead, Arsenal appeared fully in control, dominating possession and sending wave after wave of attacks at Brighton. In the sixth minute, Aaron Ramsey had a shot deflected off target. Moments later, Olivier Giroud's header was blocked near the goal line.
The second goal arrived in the 24th minute. Rosicky played the role of architect, dribbling from left to right outside the box before picking out Ozil in the box with a clever reverse pass. Ozil had enough time to take a touch and slot into the net past Stockdale for 2-0.
Facing a two-goal deficit midway through the first half, Brighton finally began to improve. In the 26th minute, Jake Forster-Caskey headed well over the bar from a Bruno cross. Four minutes later, after Arsenal's Laurent Koscielny gave away possession in the box, Baldock shot wildly over the target from an unmarked position on the left.
With the score still 2-0 at half-time, Arsenal appeared set for a comfortable afternoon. But within five minutes of the restart, Brighton pulled a goal back.
The goal had plenty to do with poor defending on the visitors' part. After Arsenal failed to clear their box in the 50th minute, the ball rolled to O'Grady on Brighton's left flank. O'Grady turned Mathieu Flamini with ease and buried his shot in the bottom corner at the near post.
Suddenly it was game on, the hosts clearly gaining a boost from the goal. But less than 10 minutes later they were down two goals again.
Rosicky was the scorer this time, starting and finishing the move himself. After winning possession outside the box, Rosicky passed to Giroud on the left while looking the other direction. Giroud flipped a return pass to Rosicky, who volleyed in impressively from the edge of the box for 3-1.
Arsenal again appeared comfortable, but Brighton hit back a second time in the 75th minute. Danny Holla set up the goal, splitting the defence with an excellent through ball to pick out Baldock's angled run. As Wojciech Szczesny raced off his line, Baldock lifted his shot over the Arsenal goalkeeper to make it 3-2.
And the match was far from finished. In the 84th minute, a free-kick from Arsenal substitute Alexis Sanchez took the slightest of deflections before hitting the crossbar. At the other end moments later, Brighton had a penalty appeal turned down after the ball struck Chambers' arm in the box.
Arsenal were clearly feeling the tension, but as full-time approached, the visitors managed to take the sting out of the match. In the second minute of stoppage time, Stockwell pushed away a dipping free-kick from Sanchez, and with the final attack of the game, Ramsey bounced a volley over the bar.
Grades
| David Stockdale | 6.3 |
| Bruno | 6.9 |
| Gordon Greer | 6.5 |
| Lewis Dunk | 6.6 |
| Joe Bennett | 7.3 |
| Danny Holla | 6.9 |
| Rohan Ince | 7.4 |
| Inigo Calderon | 6.3 |
| Jake Forster-Caskey | 6.2 |
| Sam Baldock | 6.5 |
| Chris O'Grady | 7.6 |
| Solly March (for Bruno, 63') | 6.4 |
| Adrian Colunga (for Forster-Caskey, 82') | 5.9 |
| Wojciech Szczesny | 5.9 |
| Calum Chambers | 7.4 |
| Laurent Koscielny | 7.6 |
| Nacho Monreal | 7.1 |
| Kieran Gibbs | 7.3 |
| Mathieu Flamini | 7.0 |
| Theo Walcott | 7.6 |
| Aaron Ramsey | 7.2 |
| Tomas Rosicky | 9.6 |
| Mesut Ozil | 7.7 |
| Olivier Giroud | 7.5 |
| Chuba Akpom (for Giroud, 70') | 6.7 |
| Alexis Sanchez (for Walcott, 70') | 6.5 |
| Francis Coquelin (for Ozil, 80') | 6.5 |
Reaction
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger (BeIN Sports via BBC Sport):
"We started very strongly and played at a good pace with quick combinations and won the ball back quickly. Overall that helped us to win the game. We were still in control at 3-1, but at 3-2 of course then they had more belief. It shows you how difficult it is psychologically in the cups. You think you have done enough to win but no, because the other team does not give up, which is what happened today.
We had many players who had came back and maybe we dropped a bit physically. They gave it a go like a typical Championship team can do, that is why so many Premier League teams were surprised yesterday. We had to fight until the end as well.
(The results yesterday were) a huge surprise. You check twice to see if it is true or not because you don't believe it but that is the cup and why people love football; it is only in our sport that lower division teams can beat those of the higher divisions.
"
Arsenal forward Theo Walcott (BeIN Sports via BBC Sport):
"That is what the FA Cup is about. We did well in patches, it was a typical FA Cup tie—we have a go, they have a go basically.
We are getting players back to fitness and it is a competition for places now. It is nice to go through because it was very tough today.
It has been a while since I last scored. It has been a whole year, people will expect me to score every game now but it is not going to happen overnight. It is about building up fitness.
"
Brighton manager Chris Hughton (per BBC Sport):
"We gave ourselves a mountain to climb and then all you can ask for is a reaction. You can't afford to start like that against the quality Arsenal have but we showed great spirit and a decision went against us that on another day could have got us the result we wanted.
…
This is a very ambitious club, at the moment we are in a position in the league where we don't want to be and we have a lot of work to do to. This division is full of clubs that have been Premier League clubs and then found it difficult. Our priority at the moment is to get that stability that we need.
"
