Arsenal’s great new hope took new steps but lost ground to the Premier League’s runaway leaders. To Mikel Arteta’s list of irritants, we can now add the awarding of a controversial penalty for hamstring problems and illness.
The climax came an hour later, with Arsenal 1-0 ahead and taking advantage of the good vibes of their local teenager, Ethan Nwaneri, whose goal had cut Liverpool’s lead a little.
But then it all revolved around the decision to award a penalty to William Saliba for an accidental clash of heads with Brighton’s Joao Pedro.
There was undoubtedly contact, but under a bouncing ball, in the midst of the frenzy and with Pedro on a path away from the goal, it felt marginal. Arteta’s outstretched arms would indicate a similar instinct.
But the referee, Anthony Taylor, gave it, the VAR accepted and Pedro nailed the shot. With that, the prospect of reducing Liverpool’s lead to two points, albeit with two games in hand, faded into the much bleaker picture of a five-point deficit and the end of their four-game winning streak in the league.
For Arteta, who had Martin Odegaard on the bench due to illness and Kai Havertz at home for the same reason, the same disappointment will come from elements of the performance. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t particularly good either, which extended to a rare ineffectiveness at set pieces, epitomized by a first-half corner when three of their men conspired to knock each other down in pursuit of a goal. . a delivery from Declan Rice.
Arsenal lost further ground to Liverpool in the Premier League title race by drawing with Brighton at the Amex.
The Gunners started the game without captain Martin Odegaard, who was ill and on the bench
They were leading until Joao Pedro scored from a penalty after being brought down by William Saliba.
The rest was left halfway. A little bland. A lot of effort, little quality. They did the hard part by overcoming Brighton’s pressure, but couldn’t find enough smart balls to create solid chances. The only time they did it in open play, Nwaneri scored, assisted in part by Rice and Mikel Merino, but also by a poor performance by the goalkeeper.
That said, it was a good moment for the 17-year-old, who has the difficult task of replacing Bukayo Saka but is handling it brilliantly. After such a strong performance against Brentford, the strike and the determined nature of how he ignored a couple of golden team-mates to take it, was a testament to his talent.
Unfortunately, he was also booked for falling too far behind in a corner and hooked at half-time, so this is a work in progress, but his signs are good. Certainly better than Arsenal’s title prospects.
As for Brighton, this was their eighth game without a win, but of their six draws in that stretch, this one will taste better.
Indeed, the night had an ominous smell for Arsenal from the start. The pre-match concern revolved around his creativity and pace, or rather what would be lost with Odegaard and Gabriel Martinelli on the bench. Despite the obvious benefit of Rice returning to the starting eleven, a midfield unit that placed him alongside Jorginho and Merino had little attacking power. Or that’s what I thought.
Thomas Partey was also considered, moved to right back to cover Jurrien Timber’s suspension and tasked with providing support to Nwaneri. But if Julen Herzeler sensed a weakness worth investigating on that flank, based on how often his team looked for Simon Adingra on their left flank, it initially seemed out of place.
This was demonstrated with the first goal, scored after 16 minutes. Along with Nwaneri, Rice was also a key element, using quick movement on the touchline to absorb and eliminate Igor Julio and Pervis Estupinan.
From there, he released Merino, who had space to advance for Nwaneri to continue his attack. Bart Verbruggen should have stopped the shot, with a low and strong blow, but he took nothing away from the academy boy: there was no trace of inhibition or indecision from the moment he took possession 40 meters from his goal. There was also no instinct of deference with Gabriel Jesús and Rice available and asking for a pass. There is a murderer in its composition.
Ethan Nwaneri scored his second Premier League goal to put Arsenal 1-0 up after 14 minutes.
Thomas Tuchel watched as England’s new manager attended his second top-flight match of the day.
Arsenal are now five points behind Liverpool, who also have two games in hand
While that was Arsenal’s clearest highlight of the half, there were times when they lived dangerously.
Two of them involved Jorginho, who first missed a clearance into Adingra’s path (the shot went wrong) and then lost possession in midfield, only for the same player to miss another shot. Small wobbles that went unpunished.
The biggest concern was the opportunities they failed to create. Playing through Brighton’s aggressive high press worked to an extent, but too often the next ball lacked precision. The same thing happened with those set pieces.
Curiously, Brighton followed Monaco’s example of dropping three men near the halfway point, forcing Arteta to give up flooding the area. Deterrent or not, Arsenal did not find a way to pass: Nwaneri hit the near post directly on one delivery, was booked for taking too long on the next and, in the middle, a Rice corner triggered a three-way collision between Jesús, Merino and Partey. They have had better days.
For the second half, Arteta, aware of Nwaneri’s booking, switched to the winger for Martinelli, while Hurzeler brought in Georginio Rutter and Yankuba Minteh for Matt O’Riley and Brajan Gruda. With extra impetus, they had the opportunity to tie a quarter of an hour before half-time thanks to that controversial penalty.
There was certainly a clash of heads, but it was still an accidental collision under a high ball in the midst of a frenzy. An unusual one. Regardless, Pedro sent David Raya the wrong way for his first goal in eight games and Arteta called on Odegaard from his bench.
The desperation was obvious, but the impact limited. In fact, it was Brighton who came closest to winning, with Minteh slipping away from Riccardo Calafiori and firing inside onto the precise path towards goal taken by Nwaneri. By choosing the same location, he was a fraction away from pulling off the heist. Moments later, Yasin Ayari skated a free kick a touch wide of the opposition post, before Arsenal had two final turns in the game of set-piece roulette.
Both were taken from the same place, to the right of the area, 45 meters away. Both were whipped by Rice to the penalty spot. They both managed free headers, for Partey and Calafiori, and both shots flew over the bar, taking two points.