De Zerbi hails Ferguson potential as Arsenal extend lead at the top

Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi described Evan Ferguson as a player with big potential after the Irish teenager scored his first Premier League goal in their 4-2 loss to Arsenal at the Amex Stadium.

The visitors finish 2022 seven points clear in the Premier League after an entertaining encounter, in which they appeared to be cruising after an hour, goals from Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and Eddie Nketiah giving them a 3-0 lead.

Kaoru Mitoma's 65th minute goal livened up the contest sparking a burst of industry from the hosts until Gabriel Martinelli's 71st strike appeared to kill the game.

However, the 17-year old Ferguson, who recently made his debut for the Republic of Ireland senior side against Norway, out-muscled a hesitant William Saliba to become the youngest Irish goalscorer in the Premier League and open up the possibility of a grandstand finish.

Speaking to Sky Sports afterwards, De Zerbi was relatively curt in his comments on the striker, though did speak of his potential along with several of their younger players.

De Zerbi said: "He's (Ferguson) a good player, he has very big potential, like Sarmiento, like Encise, like Lamptey, like Billy Gilmour and Colwill.

"I think the game has been strange, a strange result, it was strange the way Arsenal scored. I'm happy for my players, for our performance against a great team. "Arsenal have fantastic players and a fantastic coach. I'm sorry for the (disallowed) goal because I think it changed the game, closed the game. "It was a crucial moment, but we are very young. I think we have to improve our understanding of difficult moments in the game... "I'm happy for the quality of the play, for the attitude of my players, for their bravery and courage. For the result, I'm