Arsenal moved back to the top of the Premier League with a confident display against Brighton at the Amex Stadium. The Gunners won 3-0 away from home and became only rhe second team this season to defeat the Seagulls in their own back yard.

A tense first half saw Mikel Arteta’s men dominate possession and they could have scored early if Gabriel’s headed effort was on target. Instead, they were forced to wait until the 33rd minute when Gabriel Jesus was taken out inside the penalty area and Bukayo Saka slotted home the resultant spot kick.

The teams went into the break on level terms but Arsenal picked up where they left off. Jorginho found space on the right and slipped a pass into the box. Kai Havertz, proving once again that he can lead the line, tapped home from close range.

It was also Havertz who supplied for the third, releasing former Brighton star Leandro Trossard into space late in the match. Trossard chipped the goalkeeper and ensured there would be no surprises at the end of the game.

This is an Arsenal team that is showing itself capable of meeting any challenge, in any way. They can score from slick passing moves, or they can head one in from a corner. They can defend high up the pitch, pressing with aggression, or sit on the edge of their own box and block everything that comes their way.

In short, Mikel Arteta has brought together a group of players who can do lots of different things, in lots of different ways. Their second goal here, in this latest victory, was the perfect example. It was assisted by Jorginho, briefly transformed into an overlapping winger, and converted by Kai Havertz, a man signed to play in midfield but now thriving in attack.

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Few teams pose the sort of questions that Roberto De Zerbi’s Brighton posed of Arsenal. Matches on the south coast are awkward and strange, with unfamiliar shapes and spaces. Arsenal had some trouble but, as they so often do these days, they adapted to the challenge in front of them.

Bukayo Saka’s penalty and Havertz’s strike were the key moments, but it was a victory built primarily on that adaptability. It was also a sign of their progress. This was the exact sort of occasion that would have caused Arsenal to stumble last year.

If the chants from the Arsenal away end at Brighton were a throwback to the 90s, Mikel Arteta’s has now built a defence to match the days of Dixon, Bould, Adams and Winterburn. As the Gunners returned to the top of the Premier League table, they did so while keeping five clean sheets away from home in a row for the first time since 1997.

You could see why, as Gabriel Magalhaes threw himself to block Joao Pedro’s shot in stoppage time. Arsenal were 3-0 up and cruising, but Gabriel celebrated as if it had won the Gunners the match.