Arsenal beat Brighton to stretch their lead as Man City’s draw keeps title race open

Bukayo Saka’s early goal sealed a 1–0 win at the Amex, while Manchester City were held 2–2 by Nottingham Forest — leaving Arsenal seven points clear, with City still holding a game in hand.

Arsenal tightened their grip at the top of the Premier League on 3 March 2026, edging Brighton 1–0 thanks to Bukayo Saka, who scored early in the match in what Reuters noted was his 300th appearance for the club.

The winner came from a Saka effort that took a deflection on its way past Bart Verbruggen, and Arsenal protected the lead with another strong defensive display — with David Raya registering his 14th clean sheet of the league season.

At the same time, Manchester City dropped points at the Etihad in a 2–2 draw with Nottingham Forest, twice being pegged back after leading through Antoine Semenyo and then Rodri, before Morgan Gibbs-White and Elliot Anderson levelled for the visitors.

The table impact is clear: Arsenal moved to 67 points from 30 games, while City sit on 60 points from 29 games, meaning Arsenal have a seven-point cushion but City retain a match in hand.

With the run-in approaching, Arsenal’s ability to keep winning tight games is now forcing City to be near-perfect — and midweek results like this can quickly become the difference between a title charge and a chase that runs out of time.