GRAHAM POTTER’S Brighton gave in-form Arsenal a rain check on the wet and windy south coast this weekend.  

After their stellar exploits against Spurs to win the north London derby last weekend, Mikel Arteta’s side were held to a goalless draw at the Amex in challenging conditions on Saturday. 

While the thought of a trip to Brighton might offer sun, sea and a pebbly beach, the reality on the first weekend of October was a rain-lashed seaside town, with visitors as soggy as the fare on a sodden pitch was stodgy. 

In filthy conditions, the verve the Gunners had displayed recently was exchanged for a far more prosaic style, with the backline quite rightly battening down the hatches against the high-flying Seagulls. 

While a failure to find the back of the net could be highlighted, along with the fact that Arsenal have only scored five goals in seven league games — their worst tally at the start of a season since 1986/87 — perhaps a different take could be to praise the side for their obduracy shown against Potter’s probing side. 

Aaron Ramsdale once again showed why he is England’s future number-one keeper if he keeps progressing. His vocal presence and organisational skills impressed as much as his agility, footwork and ability to conjure excellent saves and blocks when all appeared lost. 

While the Seagulls registered 21 attempts on Ramsdale’s goal — even if only two forced the talented 23-year-old into action — on a filthy afternoon, he shone throughout.

Not least when keeping out the lively Marc Cucurella, Brighton’s new signing from the progressive Getafe, powerfully parrying the left wing-back’s cross-cum-shot late on to secure a hard-fought point. 

No wonder Arteta hailed his keeper afterwards, saying: “The way we decided to recruit Aaron was [after] going through a big process where we wanted to know a lot about his personality, his character, the way he can handle playing under pressure at a big club. 

“He is showing he is ready to do that, and I’m really happy with his performances and what he is bringing. That’s one of the reasons I think, defensively, we have been really difficult to concede goals.

“It's a point gained, because I don’t think we deserved anything more than that. If we did deserve that point it’s because we defended really well for the last 15-20 minutes. But in general we never felt in control of the game, we struggled to break the press and get good sequences of passes in the final third. They made it really tough for us.”

They certainly did. 

Not least when Gabriel had his tooth knocked out during a defensive redoubt that saw him look for his missing fang in vain. 

Far more encouraging was his ever-burgeoning partnership with former Brighton defender Ben White, even if the latter was, sadly, booed by a smattering of home fans, bitter at the England international for having the temerity to abandon Sussex in a bid to progress his career in north London.  

However, it was fair to say Potter's side were the more dominant for most of the match. Yet they failed to turn that superiority into goals, with Dan Burn heading the Seagulls’ best opportunity over the crossbar from close range.

Leandro Trossard and Neal Maupay also missed the target, while Shane Duffy headed against the side netting from Pascal Gross’s corner.

Arsenal’s best chance fell to a subdued Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who headed against the woodwork from Bukayo Saka’s deep cross.

Emile Smith Rowe fired at Brighton’s netminder Robert Sanchez in a rare foray forward as the clock ticked down, but in truth, an Arsenal winner would have been cruel on Potter’s emerging side.

“It's a foundation,” a reflective Potter said afterwards. “Fourteen points from seven games is good for us, but we have to keep moving.

“This performance gives us a lot of hope and belief going forward.”

The forthcoming international break gives both sides the chance to take stock after a hectic month while also allowing Arsenal’s exuberant, but utterly soaked, travelling support time to fully dry out.