Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has hailed his team's incredible resilience and survival spirit after they navigated a severe injury crisis to secure a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday, December 27, 2025.
Injury Blows Rock Gunners Before Kick-Off
The North London club's preparations were thrown into chaos just 24 hours before the match when Dutch defender Jurrien Timber suffered an injury in training on Friday. The situation worsened dramatically during the pre-match warm-up at the Emirates Stadium, as Italian full-back Riccardo Calafiori picked up a knock and was forced to withdraw.
With Ben White and Cristhian Mosquera also unavailable, Arteta was forced into a major defensive reshuffle. Youngster Myles Lewis-Skelly was handed a start at left-back, while England international Declan Rice was deployed as an emergency right-back.
Arteta Lauds Squad's Unbreakable Mentality
Despite the adversity, Arsenal ground out their third consecutive Premier League victory by a one-goal margin, moving back above Manchester City into first place after the champions won at Nottingham Forest earlier in the day.
"What I like is that we are having a lot of issues and we are dealing with it in an incredible way," Arteta said in his post-match comments. "Yesterday we lost Jurrien and today we lost Calafiori in the warm-up. Declan had to play right-back and you see the performance that he put in. That is the spirit and that is how much our players want it."
The Spanish coach highlighted Rice's attitude as exemplary. "You speak to Declan and tell him he has to play there and he said 'Ok. I'm up for the challenge. I'm going to do my best'. That attitude is great to witness."
A Victory Forged Through Suffering
Arsenal took control of the match with captain Martin Odegaard scoring his first goal of the season in the first half. Their lead was doubled after the break thanks to an own goal from Brighton's Georginio Rutter.
However, Diego Gomez pulled a goal back for the visitors in the 64th minute, setting up a nervy finish. Goalkeeper David Raya was forced into a crucial late save from Yankuba Minteh to preserve the three points in the final seconds.
"Very happy with the performance. We were so dominant, individually and collectively. We were a big threat but the margin of victory should have been much bigger," Arteta admitted. "With the amount of situations and open chances that we generated, it should never have been 2-1. But that's the Premier League. We all want to win so badly. We should have scored the third one... We didn't, so we had to suffer a little bit more."
The win comes amid a prolonged 18-month injury struggle for the club. While Kai Havertz remains sidelined, there was a positive note as Brazilian centre-back Gabriel Magalhaes made his first appearance since early November as a second-half substitute. Forward Gabriel Jesus has only recently returned from a near year-long absence.
Arteta remains cautiously optimistic, stating, "At the moment we survive six months, so let's see. There is another five and a half to go. Hopefully things will get better. We got Gabby back today earlier than expected."
He emphasized the challenge ahead: "We can only control what we do... We need players back to make sure we can keep everyone fresh. Every three days is going to be a challenge."
Arsenal's next test is a massive title clash against Aston Villa at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday, where their depleted squad's spirit will be tested once again.
