Arsenal suffered a hammer blow to their top-four chase as Brighton & Hove Albion ran out 2-1 winners at the Emirates.
Are these signs of Arsenal’s season crumbling after a terrific run of results? Probably so, as the Gunners succumbed to a terrible defeat at home to Brighton. The dropped points hurt their top-four chances, for which they were considered favourites just a few weeks ago.
Brighton got their lineup spot on and Graham Potter executed a tactical masterclass to keep the Gunners at bay. Brighton got their reward after controlling the play in the first half as Enock Mwepu charged down the right and cut the ball across for Leandro Trossard to slot it into the top corner.
Arsenal pressed on with their moves in the hope of getting an equaliser and came very close. Gabriel Martinelli’s header was adjudged to be offside by VAR, and all the celebrations from the home fans went in vain. With a late boost in confidence, the Gunners wanted to bring the new half out in style.
Despite early pressure from Arsenal in the hope of scoring an equaliser, Brighton held their ground. Mwepu then doubled the lead after yet another brilliant move from the visitors, which saw Moises Caicedo bring the ball from the byline and help the scorer.
Brighton scored more goals in 66 minutes against Arsenal (2) than in their last seven Premier League games combined (1). ?
— Squawka (@Squawka) April 9, 2022
Mwepu stuck it optimistically and well beyond Aaron Ramsdale’s reach. A late Martin Odegaard strike was able to liven up the atmosphere at the Emirates, and the Gunners kept knocking on for an equaliser. Brighton held their own and saw out Arsenal, condemning the Gunners to a second successive defeat and dealing a blow to their top-four hopes. Here’s how the Arsenal players fared against Brighton.
Aaron Ramsdale: 6/10
Ramsdale was a bystander all evening as his most effective work was to get the ball out of the net twice. He did command the area well and remained dominant throughout but could do nothing about those goals.
Cedric Soares: 5/10
Cedric has been playing well lately, but too many changes within a game cost him his flow. This resulted in less joy down the right flank, as he was practically playing as a third centre-back in the second period.
Ben White: 5/10
For once, White can be criticised for losing focus at crucial moments, which eventually ended up costing the team. Otherwise, he tried to build up play from the back as usual, albeit without much success.
Gabriel Magalhaes: 4/10
There is a sense of nervousness at the back which is plaguing Arsenal at the moment, and specifically in Gabriel. The centre-back was sloppy all evening and was involved in plenty of doubtful moments to keep a balance at the back.
Granit Xhaka: 5/10
This is where Mikel Arteta got it all wrong. Xhaka is not a left-back and even if the former Arsenal captain was susceptible in the build-up to Trossard’s strike, the criticism should be on the manager to deploy a midfielder in a position that requires a different style of work than Xhaka can fathom.
Martin Odegaard: 5/10
Martin Ødegaard vs Brighton & Hove:
▪️90 minutes played
▪️1 Goal
▪️86% pass accuracy
▪️ 1x hit woodwork
▪️ 4 duels wonGEM ? pic.twitter.com/wFkiGloH4c
— Haaland ? (@fchaaland) April 9, 2022
The positive influence Odegaard had for the last few weeks seems to be waning off. Despite the late strike to liven up the mood for some time, Odegaard was suspect and gave away too many cheap fouls.
Albert Sambi Lokonga: 4/10
There is no doubt Thomas Partey was missed here as Lokonga, despite his talent and enthusiasm, cannot turn defence into attack. The Gunners suffered from a lack of real presence in the middle of the park.
Emile Smith Rowe: 4/10
Fans have been dreaming about Arteta playing Smith Rowe in an unfamiliar no.8 role, but the performance on Saturday was a stark lesson to those dreamers. The Englishman was ineffective in all sorts of manners and offered no presence in the midfield.
Bukayo Saka: 4/10
Saka has been poor in both the recent losses. Against Brighton, despite the home advantage, he failed to provide the balanced performance expected of him by now. There was plenty to take away from the English attacker’s display, as he continued performing sloppily.
Alexandre Lacazette: 3/10
Many Arsenal fans will be feeling their call for Lacazette to be dropped from the role makes more sense now. The Arsenal captain provided nothing in the attack, nor was he at his solid self to pressurise the opposition.
Gabriel Martinelli: 6/10
If it’s taking 5 mins to rule out the goal, then it should be given. No concrete evidence Martinelli was offside as well. This is a really poor use of VAR. pic.twitter.com/Vcx4OgZA9e
— P™ (@SemperFiArsenal) April 9, 2022
Martinelli worked hard as ever, although his output was a little questionable at times. He thought he got the equaliser in the first half, only for VAR to questionably rule it out for offside.
SUBSTITUTES
Eddie Nketiah: 6/10
Nketiah made a positive impact despite Arsenal not being at their creative best. The attacker mostly played from the left flank and had a few good moments to reflect upon.
Nicolas Pepe: 3/10
Pepe produced yet another dismal performance off the bench, as he succumbed under the late pressure to deliver something positive.
