Arsenal have continued their recent slide at the bookend of the 2021-22 Premier League campaign with a massively frustrating 2-1 loss at the Emirates against visiting Brighton, which has left Mikel Arteta’s Gunners in danger of slipping three points behind bitter rivals Tottenham in the race for the last Champions League spot.
Arsenal lose to Crystal Palace and Brighton in a week.
Their top-four hopes are fading fast 👋 pic.twitter.com/nOLvw81R13
— B/R Football (@brfootball) April 9, 2022
The north London giants were second-best the vast majority of the afternoon fixture and at one point were down 2-0 but so nearly battled back late on to secure a point. A disallowed goal by Gabriel Martinelli and second-half substitute Eddie Nketiah hitting woodwork, though, perhaps summed up the day entirely. Brighton will take confidence from this performance as their push for a top-half finish will be boosted considerably thanks to two superbly taken efforts from Leandro Trossard and Enock Mwepu on either side of the half-time interval.
📰 Table Of Contents
Arsenal
Aaron Ramsdale (6) – Cannot be held to account for either of Brighton’s goals. A decent performance but was not his usual bigger-than-life self in goal.
Cédric Soares (6.5) – The Portuguese international continues to put in decent shifts in a deputy role behind Takehiro Tomiyasu. He was pretty okay.
Ben White (6) – Okay, and truthfully, could not do much more to deal with the ease with which Brighton got into the box at times.
Granit Xhaka (5.5) – Assisted the goal and was much better in the second half, but as a left-back, Xhaka is a shadow of the player he is for the club when he is in the middle.
Sambi Lokonga (6) – A hard performance to gauge. He tried to put himself about the right way but it is clear that Lokonga is not ready to be trusted as a first-choice option.
Emile Smith Rowe (6) – A bit-part performance from Smith Rowe given that he was tasked with an adjusted role today in the center of the park.
Martin Ødegaard (7) – Found what nearly proved to be a vital goal in the dying minutes of the match and was, like Saka, one of the only players to perform overall.
Bukayo Saka (7) – Despite the lack of end product, Saka was one of the few players to show up throughout the entire match for Arsenal. Indicative of how crucial he has become.
Gabriel Martinelli (6.5) – Lively as always and made a nuisance of himself all afternoon. Will undoubtedly feel aggrieved to have seen his equalizer pulled back for offside.
Alexandre Lacazette (6) – Talented he may be, but the frustration remains that – while the Frenchman can bring others in around him – sometimes you just need your striker to score.
Eddie Nketiah (subbed on in 62nd minute; 6.5) – Hit woodwork after coming on and was generally okay as he so often has proven as an impact sub.
Nicolas Pépé (subbed on in 74th minute; 6) – Came on but was involved in little apart from a handful of efforts that did not net the desired result.
Brighton
Robert Sánchez (7) – Was good between the sticks which included a very good save late on to keep Arsenal out.
Joël Veltman (7) – One of the leaders in tackles (3) for Brighton today, the Dutchman had a pretty solid outing overall.
Lewis Dunk (6.5) – A rock at the back for the Seagulls though maybe not the real force he has been capable of showing. Was decent overall, however.
Marc Cucurella (7) – Strong at both ends of the pitch today and remains one of the unsung heroes for Brighton this season under Graham Potter.
Pascal Groß (6) – Often deputizing out on the right, it’s clear that he remains a central player despite his work ethic. Okay at best.
Enock Mwepu (8.5) – Truly a MotM performance from the summer signing. Was ever-present in all areas of the pitch and capped his day with a wonderfully struck goal.
Yves Bissouma (7) – A good all-around performance from the key central figure for Brighton. Taken off due to being booked but was as stout as ever.
Moisés Caicedo (7) – Strong outing from the midfielder who, along with Mwepu and Bissouma, really frustrated the Arsenal engine room throughout.
Leandro Trossard (7.5) – Scored a lovely opener to give Brighton the lead in the first half and constantly offered a link-up outlet during the run of play. A very good performance.
Danny Welbeck (7) – Fairly impressive up top today alongside Mac Allister and showed a real desire to be an attacking focal point in quite a few passages. Workhorse as ever.
Alexis Mac Allister (6) – Should have done better with his decision-making in a few key moments and tried to link with the midfield by often dropping deep, but was only okay.
Adam Lallana (subbed on in 74th minute; 5) – Despite getting just about 20-minutes, he hardly influenced proceedings.
Tariq Lamptey (subbed on in the 77th minute; 5.5) – Brought on to try to shore things up and perhaps offer some threat on the counter. Did not contribute much.
Adam Webster (subbed on in the 85th minute; N/A) – Came in for the final stage of the match.
What they said
🗣️ “We were sloppy…” #AFC boss Mikel Arteta says his side didn’t have the ‘courage’ to attack in the way he wanted against #BHAFC 🔴 pic.twitter.com/tHjYUxcHJ0
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) April 9, 2022
🗣 “We had to be brave, we had to use the qualities we’ve got in the team.”
Graham Potter explains his game plan as his side beat Arsenal 2-1 at the Emirates. pic.twitter.com/1kb2cJ1UOB
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) April 9, 2022
What you may have missed
Don’t think Arsenal particularly deserve an equaliser but if VAR needs that long to decide… it’s the definition of “level”, for me, but I don’t think the concept of “level” exists any more
— Sam Dean (@SamJDean) April 9, 2022
H/T: 1-0 Brighton.
Awful half from Arsenal. It has to be said though, if it takes that long to try and work out if someone’s foot is offside, should you really rule a goal out? Clearly they weren’t sure whose foot was where on all those replays.
— Charles Watts (@charles_watts) April 9, 2022
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