Gunners brush aside Brighton

London, Oct. 1: Arsene Wenger celebrated the 21st anniversary of his arrival at Arsenal in winning style as the Gunners cruised to a 2-0 victory over Brighton on Sunday.

There are many reasons for Arsenal fans to look back fondly on the day Wenger was hired but, after several years of underachievement, the Frenchman finds himself engaged in a fight to restore his tarnished reputation.

It is too early to predict whether Arsenal can end their 13-year wait to win a fourth Premier League title under Wenger, but there were some encouraging signs as Brighton were put to the sword at the Emirates Stadium.

Nacho Monreal opened the scoring in the first half before Alex Iwobi, converting Alexis Sanchez’s majestic assist, wrapped up the points after the interval.

Arsenal’s sixth win from their last seven matches in all competitions moved them to within six points of leaders Manchester City heading into the international break.

Fittingly, Wenger marked his milestone date with a notable record of his own. Brighton are the 45th different Premier League club to be defeated by Arsenal since Wenger took over breaking the record he shared with Alex Ferguson.

Just 64 hours after winning at Belarus’s Bate Borisov in the Europa League, Arsenal were back in action and Wenger freshened up his side by making nine changes.