Arsenal Continue Positive Trend Thanks To The Role Of Supersub Lacazette

Alexandre Lacazette (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - Alexandre Lacazette played a supersub role as Arsenal successfully continued their positive momentum by picking up a 1-0 win at Brighton & Hove Albion's headquarters, Amex Stadium, in the Week 16 Premier League match on Tuesday local time (Wednesday WIB).

Launching Antara, Lacazette, who had just entered the field a few seconds to replace Gabriel Martinelli, was able to complete Bukayo Saka's bait to break the deadlock in the 66th minute.

The goal was the fruit of hard work by Arsenal who have leveled their form since halftime after looking struggling to create meaningful chances in the opening 45 minutes.

Five minutes into the second half, captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang had the chance to open Arsenal's lead when he received a pass from Saka, but his close range shot was phenomenally countered by goalkeeper Roberto Sanchez.

Then in the 52nd minute, Martinelli also got a chance when trying to finish a pass from Emile Smith Rowe, unfortunately his curved shot still flew narrowly over the crossbar.

In contrast, the hosts were close to taking the lead when Joel Veltman sent in a sweet through ball, but goalkeeper Bernd Lona managed to save Davy Proepper's shot in the 65th minute.

Only a minute after the wasted chance, Lacazette was able to put Arsenal in the lead and since then not many significant opportunities have been created until the whistle has sounded the game.

The result was Arsenal's second consecutive victory, after the previous seven games were in the puddle of a non-winning trend.

Thanks to that victory, Arsenal moved up to 13th in the standings with a collection of 20 points, while Brighton (13) slipped to 17th, according to the official Premier League website.

The two teams will return to action on Saturday, January 2 this weekend for their opening match in 2021. Arsenal will travel to West Bromwich Albion headquarters, while Brighton host Wolverhampton at the Amex Stadium.