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Arsenal easily returned to the top of the Premier League table after defeating Luton Town 2-0 at the Emirates Stadium.
A much-changed Arsenal side scarcely needed to break a sweat to take a two-goal advantage into the interval, with Martin Odegaard breaking the Luton defence before Daiki Hashioka turned into his own net.
Mikel Arteta’s men were on the ropes at times during an unimpressive second period, but the visitors’ prior aptitude for hitting the net failed them as their 18-game goal-scoring streak in the top tier came to an end.
Bukayo Saka was absent from Arsenal for the second time in the 2023-24 Premier League season following his forced replacement against Manchester City, allowing Reiss Nelson to make his first top-flight start of the season.
Arteta switched up his pack, bringing back Thomas Partey, Emile Smith Rowe, Leandro Trossard, and Oleksandr Zinchenko to the Gunners’ starting lineup. Still, a Luton defense soon caught even a rotational side.
Rob Edwards deployed every man behind the ball while Arsenal found their passing rhythm, which worked well at first, as the hosts struggled to find spaces in the packed Luton defense.
That all changed in the 24th minute, when Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu lost control under pressure by Smith Rowe, who then sent Kai Havertz off, and the German’s ball across the box found Odegaard, who sent a precise, sliced shot into the bottom corner.
Luton responded admirably to Arsenal’s predicted opener, but the Hatters lacked attacking potency and were grateful to Thomas Kaminski for limiting the deficit to one in the 35th minute, when the 31-year-old denied Smith Rowe from close range.
Arsenal moved back to the top of the table by beating Luton 2-0
During the many lulls in activity, the Arsenal men woke up the crowd with a few slick moves, one of which saw Ben White expertly elude Alfie Doughty before sliding in Havertz, but Kaminski was equal to the German’s 41st-minute effort from a tight angle.
However, Kaminski was helpless to prevent Arsenal’s second goal just three minutes later, when the energetic Smith Rowe went to the byline on the left side and attempted to pick out Nelson, but his cutback was redirected into the Luton net by Hashioka.
Sloppiness came into Arsenal’s play in the first half of the second session, with David Raya being the busier of the two goalkeepers as Luton sensed a comeback, but the Spaniard still had no major saves to make.
A couple Hatters’ crosses were either repelled or went awry. Nonetheless, Edwards’ men, like their travelling supporters, did not lose heart as Arsenal battled to get going.
Gilt-edged opportunities continued to evade the visitors. Nevertheless, Arsenal came close to sealing the victory with 10 minutes of normal time remaining when Takehiro Tomiyasu’s curler from 20 yards bounced just wide of the post.
Fellow substitute Eddie Nketiah then sent Kaminski scrambling with an 88th-minute strike from similar range that would have found the bottom corner if not for the Belgian goalkeeper, as Arteta’s team announced a two-goal lead.
Arsenal, who have been top for at least 24 hours, face Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday. While, Luton who are currently 18th and three points from safety, go to Bournemouth three days later.
