For most of their respective histories, Arsenal and Brighton have operated at opposite ends of the footballing pyramid.
In the same season that saw Brighton teeter on the brink of extinction, one defeat away from dropping out of the Football League entirely and plunging into financial ruin, Arsene Wenger took charge of Arsenal, ushering in decades of sustained success.
However, Brighton's own revolutionary - in the form of owner Tony Bloom - has led the Seagulls into the Premier League and European competition.
Here's a look at the history between these sides that now find themselves on the same footing.
After brief dalliances under the suffixes of United and Rangers, Brighton & Hove Albion were founded in 1901. Yet, the Seagulls had to wait until 1979 to reach England's top flight.
FA Cup holders Arsenal travelled to the south coast for a glamorous opener. Brighton manager Alan Mullery tried to counter the nerves coursing throughout his squad which had risen from the fourth tier to the first in 14 years.
"They've only got two feet, same as you," Mullery accurately pointed out. "Now listen. We know them, but I've just been talking to their physio, Fred Street, and they haven't a clue what to expect from us."
Evidently, Arsenal didn't need a dossier on their hosts, waltzing to a 4-0 thumping to give Brighton a brutal introduction to top-flight football.
Wenger announced that he would be stepping down as Arsenal manager in April 2018 but the end seemed to have arrived a month earlier. Brighton were deserved victors on a day that forced even Wenger to accept that Arsenal's ambitions of finishing in the Premier League's top four were over.
A desperately limp 2-1 loss, played to the backdrop of vicious 'Wenger Out' demands, was Arsenal's fourth defeat on the spin - the club's longest losing sequence in 16 years.
While Wenger glumly admitted: "It looks like we lack leaders," Brighton's squad was stuffed with them in a successful first season back in the top flight.
Brighton had been a Premier League team for two years but first hinted at their skyward ambitions with a dominant 2-1 victory at the Emirates in December 2019.
After losing 15 of their first 16 matches at the various homes of the top-flight's so-called 'Big Six', Brighton thoroughly deserved a landmark victory against lofty opposition.
Brighton outshot Arsenal 20 to 12 and Graham Potter was at pains to point out the style behind the Seagulls.
"We didn't park the bus," Potter beamed. "We pressed high, we played through from the back. We showed enough quality and character to get the win."
Neal Maupay scored the winner on Brighton's trip to the Emirates in 2019 but his personal feud with Arsenal began the following year. The antagonistic striker inadvertently injured Bernd Leno when the sides met in June 2020, with the angry goalkeeper jabbing an accusatory finger Maupay's way as he was stretchered off.
With just seconds of stoppage time remaining, Maupay poked the ball past Leno's replacement - future World Cup winner Emi Martinez - sparking an embarrassing scuffle instigated by Arsenal's sore losers.
"Some of their players need to learn what is humility," Maupay sniped post-game.
Arsenal's Matteo Guendouzi had his hands around Maupay's throat at the final whistle and had reportedly taunted Brighton's players about their inferior wages throughout the contest.
"One of them was talking the whole game and saying really bad things," Maupay revealed. "When I scored I just had to say: 'Listen, that is what happens when you say bad things on the pitch'."
Arsenal fans arrived at Brighton's Amex Stadium on New Year's Eve with a sense of trepidation. Roberto De Zerbi's high-flyers had only just beaten the Gunners the previous month and had proven to be unfavourably foes since their Premier League return.
Yet, any lingering doubts were extinguished after 66 seconds as Bukayo Saka opened the scoring. Arsenal led 3-0 and 4-1 before a late flurry from the hosts rekindled some of those forgotten nerves.
Arsenal's first league victory away to Brighton in front of fans since 1981 sent Mikel Arteta's side seven points clear of Manchester City at the Premier League summit.
Arsenal vs Brighton - Complete H2H record
Arsenal vs Brighton - Premier League H2H record
Top scorers in Arsenal vs Brighton Premier League fixtures
Player | Team represented | Goals |
|---|---|---|
Nicolas Pepe | Arsenal | 3 |
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang | Arsenal | 3 |
Neal Maupay | Brighton | 2 |
Glenn Murray | Brighton | 2 |
Martin Odegaard | Arsenal | 2 |