Declan Rice Shines At Right-back As Arsenal Navigate Injury Crisis With Brighton Win

Arsenal stayed top of the Premier League after a 2-1 victory over Brighton, with Martin Odegaard scoring and Declan Rice impressing in an unfamiliar right-back role. Rice stepped out of midfield, helped secure the win, and may again cover in defence when Arsenal face Aston Villa on Tuesday.

The reshuffle came after Jurrien Timber was ruled out with an ankle issue and Ben White also remained unavailable. Riccardo Califiori then withdrew just before kick-off following a warm-up injury, which pushed Rice into the back line as Arsenal adjusted their defensive options late on.

Odegaard opened the scoring with a clean finish in the first half against Brighton and later highlighted Rice’s contribution. Odegaard pointed to Rice’s versatility as proof

of the group’s attitude, stressing how Arsenal’s squad accepted changes and tactical demands without complaint during the tight league contest.

It was an unbelievable performance from him, said Odegaard. To play right-back, probably the first time in his life, and then do it the way he did it today was unbelievable, so a really, really good performance from him. And that's just our team. Everyone is ready to do whatever it takes, and that was another good example of that.

Putting on a show. Sit back and enjoy the best of Martin Odegaard against Brighton & Hove Albion (H) pic.twitter.com/da4KlGNZwNArsenal (@Arsenal) December 28, 2025

The goal against Brighton was Odegaard’s first of the current campaign and the first since scoring against Southampton in May. The Norwegian midfielder described the effort as a relief after a lengthy run without a goal, noting the understanding with Bukayo Saka in attacking areas.

He said: I've been waiting for that one and working really hard to improve on my finishing. I like to be in those areas, and Bukayo, we know each other really well, he finds me there, and there was a little angle in the corner there, so it was a good goal. As I said, we've been working really hard to get it, and it was there, so we're really pleased.