Arsenal progress halted after goalless draw at Brighton; pressure builds on Steve Bruce

Gunners struggle against Graham Potter's in-form side as run of three straight wins comes to an end

Brighton midfielder Pascal Gross is challenged by Arsenal's Albert Sambi Lokonga during the Premier League match at the Amex Stadium. Getty Images
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Arsenal struggled to build on their impressive derby win over Tottenham after being held to a goalless draw at Brighton & Hove Albion in a game the hosts were arguably unfortunate not to win.

After a start to the season that saw the Gunners lose three in succession, Mikel Arteta's side looked to have turned a corner with three straight wins, culminating in last weekend's impressive 3-1 victory over rivals Spurs.

However, Arsenal failed to get going against an in-form Brighton side, who had the better of the chances in front of their home fans and could have secured all three points were it not for a fine late save by Aaron Ramsdale.

The point moves Arsenal up to ninth in the Premier League table but they can drop into the bottom half if Brentford and Tottenham collect results against West Ham and Aston Villa respectively on Sunday.

Brighton climb one place to fifth to continue their encouraging start to the campaign.

Elsewhere in the Premier League on Saturday, Leeds United collected their first win of the season after edging Watford at Elland Road, courtesy of an 18th-minute goal by Diego Llorente, who had returned to the side after two weeks sidelined with injury.

Wolves secured their second successive league win as Hwang Hee-Chan scored twice either side of Jeff Hendrick's equaliser to lead his side to a 2-1 victory over struggling Newcastle.

While Wolves climb up to 11th in the standings, defeat leaves Newcastle mired in the relegation zone and the pressure on manager Steve Bruce is sure to only increase as the search for an elusive first win continues.

"Whoever you are, whether you are the manager of Newcastle or not if you haven't won in seven games then ultimately we all know the drill, we all know what comes," Bruce said.

"The quicker we get a result the better, but that is the story so far. It could have been our day, but it wasn't."

Also in the relegation zone, bottom side Norwich and 18th-placed Burnley played out a goalless draw at Turf Moor.

Updated: October 02, 2021, 7:06 PM