{"id":2421,"date":"2026-03-05T05:09:58","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T05:09:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news678.top\/?p=2421"},"modified":"2026-03-05T05:09:58","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T05:09:58","slug":"martin-keown-criticises-nervy-arsenal-star-after-win-over-brighton-football","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news678.top\/?p=2421","title":{"rendered":"Martin Keown criticises ‘nervy’ Arsenal star after win over Brighton | Football"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Martin Keown watched Arsenal\u2019s win over Brighton (Picture: TNT Sports)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Martin Keown hailed \u2018absolutely immense\u2019 Gabriel after Arsenal\u2019s win over Brighton but was more critical of \u2018nervy\u2019 Declan Rice.<\/p>\n

Arsenal moved seven points clear at the top of the Premier League with a 1-0 win at Brighton on Wednesday night.<\/p>\n

The Gunners took the lead on nine minutes through Bukayo Saka\u2019s deflected strike and produced another superb defensive display to frustrate Brighton.<\/p>\n

It turned out to be a brilliant evening for Arsenal who not only picked up another crucial win but saw title rivals Manchester City drop points at home to Nottingham Forest.<\/p>\n

Keown says those two results have made Arsenal \u2018huge favourites\u2019 to win their first Premier League title in 22 years.<\/p>\n

\u2018It\u2019s a massively significant night in the title race,\u2019 Keown said on TNT Sports. \u2018Looking at that now, Arsenal have become huge favourites.<\/p>\n

\u2018But there\u2019s hardly anything in it. Every game is\u00a0really tough, it\u2019s\u00a0going to go right to the wire. Don\u2019t\u00a0get carried away.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\"Brighton\t<\/div>
Bukayo Saka earned Arsenal a narrow win at Brighton (Picture: Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u2018That was a\u00a0great\u00a0step in the right direction but\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0only one game. It can quickly\u00a0disappear\u00a0so you focus on the next match.\u2019<\/p>\n

Arsenal were without influential defender William Saliba at Brighton but a superb performance from Gabriel helped the Gunners keep another clean sheet.<\/p>\n

Keown described Gabriel as \u2018absolutely immense\u2019 and also praised Mikel Arteta\u2019s second-half substitutes Kai Havertz and Riccardo Calafiori.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\"Brighton\t<\/div>
Arsenal\u2019s Player of the Match Gabriel (Picture: Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Gunners legend was less praiseworthy of Declan Rice, arguably Arsenal\u2019s best player this season, and said it was an uncharacteristically \u2018nervy\u2019 display from the England midfielder.<\/p>\n

\u2018It was\u00a0tortuous\u00a0to watch at times but\u00a0Gabriel\u2019s\u00a0performance\u00a0at the back was\u00a0absolutely immense,\u2019 Keown added.<\/p>\n

\u2018It was tense but\u00a0you\u2019ve\u00a0got to keep going, Havertz came off the\u00a0bench\u00a0and gave a touch of class to the team. Calafiori as well gave Arsenal better balance in the second half.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\"Brighton\t<\/div>
Declan Rice was branded \u2018nervy\u2019 by Martin Keown (Picture: Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u2018It was bit nervy at times from\u00a0Declan Rice but boy that is an\u00a0unbelievable result for Arsenal.\u2019<\/p>\n

The Premier League leaders only had two shots on target against Brighton and just over 40% possession.<\/p>\n

Ex-England goalkeeper Rob Green said Arsenal \u2018played badly\u2019 but \u2018won\u2019t care\u2019 as they took another step towards Premier League glory.<\/p>\n

\u2018Arsenal can keep playing badly and winning all they like,\u2019 he said on BBC Radio 5 Live. \u2018It\u2019s the others that are faltering.<\/p>\n

\u2018Manchester City are faltering. And you just look at this Arsenal side and how they go about winning games, they manage to just grind out results and that\u2019s all they\u2019ve done tonight.<\/p>\n

\u2018They\u2019ve had a stroke of good fortune. There\u2019s not one player that can turn around and say they had a good game, except maybe Hincapie and maybe one or two others defensively. They don\u2019t care, they won.\u2019<\/p>\n

While Arsenal move seven points clear at the top of the Premier League, Brighton drop one place to 12th.<\/p>\n

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