Arsenal v Brighton Review – How disappointing were the Gunners today?

After Brighton’s embarrassing 5-1 defeat to Everton last week, I must admit I thought that Arsenal would have a very comfortable game at the Emirates this afternoon, but in the first half it was far from an easy ride for the Gunners.

In fact Brighton had the very best chance in the opening 45 minutes when Mitoma left Ben White floudering and made a great cross that might have been very easy for Brighton if Aaron Ramsdale hadn’t got a hand to it, but it still fell to another Seagulls player who happily blasted it over the bar.

It was a very physical first half and one thing annoyed me was that El Stupido for Brighton was not booked for either of two heavy fouls on Martinelli, which resulted in him being replaced by the ex-Seagull’s man Trossard, but he was finally carded for another lunge as Odegaard, which wasn’t half as bad as the two on Martinelli.

Other than that Trossard was given a bang at the other end but it was a bit high and ended up hitting the bar. Saka also hit the post but the ref would have disallowed it anyway, and we went off for the break at 0-0…

But suddenly, just 5 minutes after the restart, the Arsenal defence was found lacking, and Enciso was very happy to find himself alone in the Ramsdale’s penalty area after a strange deflection off Kiwior, and we found ourselves losing 1-0 with a danger we could suffer only our second defeat at home this season.

The second half, I’m afraid, saw Brighton have more possession then Arsenal, although it was good to see Reiss Nelson come on and he really tried to make things happen, and Partey was also back to replace Jorginho, who we didn’t see much off anyway.

Jesus was actually noticed in the second half after being nearly invisible in the first. But Brighton’s pressure finally paid off 5 minutes from time, when a sloppy error from (who else!) Trossard, gave Undav a great chance, which he cleverly lobbed over Ramsdale to give the points to Brighton, and they now have a great chance of playing European football next season.

Even more annoying is the fact that it was the dirty El Stupido who gave the Seagulls the third goal to give Brighton an emphatic win at the Emirates, and not many teams can manage that.

Very, very disappointing game from Arteta’s point of view, not to mention the fans….

—————————————————————–

Video – Mikel Arteta talks about the reasons Arsenal have dropped from the top, and addresses the question if we “bottled it”

CALLING ALL ARSENAL FANS! Anyone who would like to contribute an Article or Video opinion piece on JustArsenal, please contact us through this link

Tags Arsenal v Brighton Undav

134 Comments

  1. Brighton make our players frustrated with their immaculate ball possession system in their defense and our attackers were too sloppy. Kiwior should’ve brushed off his pain and fought for the aerial ball, but I felt that our players had thrown in their towel in the title race before the game even began

    I’d be surprised if Spurs don’t sign De Zerbi in the summer and if we rely on Jesus/ Nketiah/ Balogun for the CF role next season

    1. Arsenal had an eight point lead over Man City on matchweek 29.

      Since then:

      🤝 vs. Liverpool
      🤝 vs. West Ham
      🤝 vs. Southampton
      ✅ vs. Chelsea
      ✅ vs. Newcastle
      ❌ vs. Brighton

      Now, they’re four points down and the trophy is almost out of sight 😕

      1. The trophy has already gone. Let’s be content with the second place and hope for better recruitment in the summer

    2. Arsenal resembled Wengers team.A team of ballet players can easily be roughed up.And we have a ref who doesn’t bother dishing a yc let alone a rc ,for deliberate fouling.
      MA must get some muscle into the team
      White was easily beaten.Why not restore him to his original position as a cd

      1. Yes, they usually get nervous when they get roughened up. White’s aerial ability is highly inconsistent, so playing right CB is better for him

      2. James, Arsenal prior to the arrival of Partey and Saliba has been deficient in size and strength. When is Edu/Arteta going to address the physicality of the team, given the officiating is not going to change?

        1. Vieira said the same thing yesterday.we need more physicality in midfield.the irony is that Wenger used to get hammered for not signing a proper DM.

          1. Rightly so, Siamois. After Gilberto Silva left Wenger unfortunately put his faith in the injury prone Diaby. He also went away from the Gilberto, Viera, Petit type players to a light weight non combative midfield. One Fabregas no matter how good a footballer he was, was sufficient and needed to be augmented by size, strength and pace. Wenger’ s latter teams were constantly out muscled in midfield.

  2. I agreed earlier with Jon Fox on earlier article

    It looked as though we had clocked off and were looking forward to a summer holiday knowing 2nd was in the bag

    Although the pundits were waxing lyrical about Brighton, I didn’t think they were very good either. Crappy passing out from the back and not enough from us to ask questions.

    For me, Arteta clearly didn’t feel he had a strong enough first team to ring the changes throughout the season and crucial injuries to a team that can’t match what City have in their squad, showed that they are not at that level.

    Horrible result today from a listless bunch and – but not wholly relevant- the ref was weak.

    1. This match highlights the limited strength in depth we have. To some extent it also provides insight into why Arteta has largely stuck with a small group of players for most of the season.

      1. Though I am impressed by this season results and I still think it has been very successful and I think Arteta should win manager of the year, you two should stop making excuses for his faults.

        There is nothing wrong in that. It’s okay.

        With three to four strong additions we may even walk away with the Champions League trophy.

        1. Haha
          Why should Arteta win the manager of the season?
          Walk away with Champions league trophy🤔
          Please I want some of what u guys are smoking

          1. Well some of you were complacent with the “Top4/5/6 Trophy” when it used to be a two horse race and deem a second place finish as a failure! For some mugs, Mikel won the Manager of the Month 4 times? Why? Because those who voted him have ZERO knowledge of football? This man lifted us from the pits and brought us to second place in a span of 3 years – REMEMBER we were 13th even with the decorated and experienced Unai Emery. Give the man credit for changing the ethos of the dressing room. We will finish second with a very small band of players. The players are humans too, they do have an off day too.Look at Man City, they have players who have make 2 teams and both teams would finish 1-2 in the league. Who does Mikel have to rely on – Elneny? ESR? Nelson? Eddie? Holding? We cannot spend millions every year, we are not PSG or City. We have to choose rightly and hire well and that is just what Edu and Mikel are doing. Aside from Lokonga and Viera, all their signings have brought us from 13th to 2nd and that too with Klopp being around. Spurs and CFC dumped n number of managers as they could not get the job done. Here, the humble Mikel has brought us from 13th to 2nd. Respect that mate. Do not be fair weather fan, do not disrespect our manager.
            Congratulations to BHA and to DeZerbi, another under rated coach, good luck to him.

            1. @LC.I know facts have never been your strong suit but come on!
              First off all when Unaï Emery was sacked we were 8th and not 13th.we dropped to 13th under MA. secondly your argument that we cannot spend millions every season like City… is wrong.in the last 5 seasons we have outspent every club bar UTD and Chelsea but eh don’t let the facts get in the way of your narrative!!

        2. I write my views as I see fit. Seems anyone who does not wallow in negativity or suggests everything has gone wrong is making excuses.

      2. More than just limited depth, but also limited tactics and imagination from Arteta.

        We never adjusted after halftime, never even had a phase of the game where we prospered.

        We got bossed today, without a doubt. Out played and outclassed on the pitch and on the sidelines.

        Frankly players looked like they checked out already, content with 2nd and CL.

        Most disappointing game of this season for me. An injured Brighton team comes to our fortress and we get played off the pitch for 98 minutes in a game where we needed 3 points.

        We need more than depth this Summer. Attitudes, mentality, changing tactics, selections, we still need to mature in areas and approach on the pitch and sideline.

        1. I take issue with part of your summary Durand
          You describe the team and Arteta as being bossed but qualify it with them checking out for the holidays
          Which one was it?
          In my mind, Brighton were definitely ‘better’ but only because we were completely off colour. I genuinely didn’t see how Brighton were so much better. Once you go behind, with a glimmer of a chance of catching City, there is always a risk of being caught out

          1. Easy, they checked out and lacked intensity and urgency, and Brighton took charge and bossed us; played us off the pitch.

            Don’t remember us really having a phase of the game where we looked dominant

        2. Durand our tactics were awful. I cant stomach these excuses of our squad everytime we lose. IT WAS BRIGHTON a team with far more limited resourses than us and they mullered us. We were out foxed by an astute coach. And Brighton played well, please dont say they didn’t. The took the p1££ out of us on our own patch.

      3. Losing Saliba for a third of our league games killed us.

        Our best player this season, and best CB in the league. I don’t like to use injuries as an excuse when we’re only really talking about one player, but we have struggled without him. The drop off in quality with Holding and Kiwior has been too much.

        1. That’s why strength and depth have to be improved, so that one or two injuries don’t derail Arsenal’s srason.

  3. Brighton bossed us from start to finish. That would have hurt if City had dropped points against Everton, but you could tell everyone felt deflated today given City’s 11th straight win.

    Still a fantastic season. So proud of the team. Hopefully we get some rotation in our last couple of games, and see the likes of ESR and Nelson start.

  4. I’m just so incensed. Perhaps those who incessantly cry about ESR and Nkehtia not getting enough minutes can now tell Arteta which games they have to play in because today, they killed us. Saka killed. White killed us. They both need to disappear at least in the next two games. This is an embarrassment. White is so unidimensional he can’t adjust his marking even when he’s been beaten 20x. The guy just needed to body mark his attacker, but kept giving him space to receive the ball. I’m not blaming Kirwior here. Never.

  5. A big off season coming up. Arteta needs to think big and buy, buy, buy. He also has accumulated a lot of deadwood who he has needs to get rid of. Let’s face it. Do you expect the likes of Kiwior, Viera, Elneny, Nketien, Jorginho, Trossard and Xhaka to be up for Champions League and another serious title challenge?

    1. More than just limited depth, but also limited tactics and imagination from Arteta.

      We never adjusted after halftime, never even had a phase of the game where we prospered.

      We got bossed today, without a doubt. Out played and outclassed on the pitch and on the sidelines.

      Frankly players looked like they checked out already, content with 2nd and CL.

      Most disappointing game of this season for me. An injured Brighton team comes to our fortress and we get played off the pitch for 98 minutes in a game where we needed 3 points.

      We need more than depth this Summer. Attitudes, mentality, changing tactics, selections, we still need to mature in areas and approach on the pitch and sideline.

      1. artete is just an average coach lucky to have this group of players ,his selections for different matches annoyed me. All of arsenal core where over played ,never knowing when to play or rest player , this season presented an opportunity for arsenal to win EPL,but arteta’s naievity cost us,any experience coach would have won the league.

        1. Mikel will finish second this season while Conte, Tuchel, Rodgers lost their jobs with much better squads – many over here wanted either of the three as manager after Mr. Wenger and Unai. So what would your term Conte, Tuchel and Rodgers?

    2. Elneny was extended purely because we made him turn down multi year contracts to provide cover this year and he got injured and can’t get the contracts. Think that is spot on but he’s essentially already left. We won’t sell him because we can’t.

      Kiwior cleary has potential and none of us can truly judge as he’s barely played. Utterly ridiculous to include him.

      Vieira I get but there is a top top player imo waiting to break out. Needs time but options ahead of him until that time but if my opinion is wrong and we sell fair enough.

      Nketiah is what he is hard working not a worldie but happy to play a squad role. He’s 100 prem quality and one of those who will bang in goals in his prime at a lower prem club if he moves and have everyone complaining how he was let go and asking to sign him. If we got a good enough offer I wouldn’t be unhappy at him leaving just know the same people begging for it would be the ones complaining once he starts scoring for another team regularly and he would.

      Jorginho is underated but also obviously a stopgap wouldn’t be surprised if he went this summer. Will certainly go end of contract next summer. Don’t forget the Chelsea squad were pissed off he went in January such is his leadership and underated ability. We’d be fine keeping him.

      Trossard has been fantastic what are you talking about. As a squad player on the cheap with a few years ahead of him he’s been a win win win it’s not a discussion. He’ll obviously stay.

      Xhaka was great this season and is a leader but if he goes now I wouldn’t question it. Get a fee and upgrade I’m fine with that as long as Jorginho stays. Again wouldn’t be unhappy if he stayed.

      Holding would be the obvious sale. Tierney is in the same bracket as Xhaka/Jorginho imo who I don’t mind staying, wouldn’t cry selling. Tomiyasu could have a case made. Partey too given his age.

        1. What do you disagree with exactly. My only firm not sell is Trossard/Kiwior what’s your issue with that?

        2. Also are you suggesting that 2nd in the league was a bad season and therefore the players played bad because that’s fantasisto as you put it. Liverpool finished 2nd last year winning no trophies what was your opinion on their season last year? Fantasisto!

          1. Was baiting as they drew both and won on penalties. The league cup legit doesn’t count but honestly I don’t want to come back on the site again so I won’t wait. Arteta’s FA Cup means something then and 2nd means something then. Let’s see what happens next year. IMO the squad as young as it is and with money available can only get better. Do you not share that opinion?

      1. Angus, the signing of Viera is symptomatic of the lack of size and strength to augment any perceived technical ability. Viera has a totally deficient player profile to succeed in the EPL.

      2. Angus what you smoking xhakrittes Granit xhaka is the weakest player at arsenal never we could ever win a league with him .Angus tell me what great has he done this season .please no wonder partey started playing shit cause was paired with shit .Mikel arteta is to small for arsenal .knew all the time this would happen not surprised

  6. I think Arsenal already gave up which is kind of ironic when they were also terrible when the pressure was on us (Pool, West Ham, Southampton).

    Big thins need to happen in the summer and I expect better challenge for silverware next season.

    1. We didn’t give up, like you say, we have far to many bad games in us and the four games that decided our fate were examples.

  7. We missed Zinchenko today..
    His passing ability and ability to control midfield and tempo of the game missed by Arsenal..
    Arteta need to understand that we should start Zinchenko next season in midfield instead of LB
    We need at least 5-6 players to make this team title winning next season..
    We need one good RB
    White was torn apart by Mitoma..
    We need 1 midfielder
    Caicedo was absolutely terrific today..
    The energy, aggression and determination he was giving was incredible…
    1 big strong and powerful CF…
    Today Ramsdale so many times put the ball long but Jesus is small and Lewis Dunk was easily brushing him apart…
    1 back for Saka
    Saka run out of gas at the end of this season…
    Actually we need 2 wingers…
    The way Martinelli was injured, it shows we need to have back up…

    1. The shame of football, a stain in what was once a beautiful game, the rotten fish in the basket, the rotten apple on the tree.

      Shameless club, their manager and their players.

      Using the power of money to destroy and taking the soul of what was once the best and the most exciting league in the world.

      How can their fans even enjoy bought titles?

        1. Still waiting for Arsenal to buy a player of Erling Haaland’s productivity! Manchester City has the financial doped ability to buy two squads with top class players in every position by two.
          What is the point of Financial Fair Play if it is not enforced with sanctions? Unfortunately football has been corrupted.

  8. 3-0 loss to Brighton – Total disappointment. Disgrace. Is Arteta still the manager to lead us into the future? It’s hard, extremely hard to say yes.

      1. You do realize Brighton just lost 5-1 to Everton? So De Zerbi is better then Arteta now? Cos we lost to them?

        1. I am talking about today..
          Today Tactically he was much better and sound than Arteta..
          Arteta couldn’t cope with Zinchenko’s absence..

          1. ok fair. But I also thought it was going to be a disaster when Martinelli went off, cos of his pace. I’m sure it influenced the game play as well

    1. Before you lose all sense of reason, ask yourself a very simple question
      Who do you have in mind?
      I get and feel you disappointment from today but I think that has got the better of you

      1. Agree with you SueP, we are all very disappointed, but some of the knee jerk reactions to today’s result are quite mind boggling. The same people asking for Arteta and half the team to be sold were praising them last week. Fickle fans or what!

        1. Whenever we have setbacks there are a number of fans who are very quick out of the block to denigrate and undermine the manager. So, I’m afraid it’s not at all mind-boggling.
          Just remember that there are other more sensible fans.

        1. His first season in our league and a crushing loss last week.
          Only Guardiola is currently higher up the food chain this season
          Should it go t*ts up next season for Arteta then you may have a point Kedar

        2. To start I think De Zebri has done great and suspect Brighton will do even better next year as they have an awesome data driven transfer policy that maybe potter wasn’t taking full advantage of.

          That said De Zerbi took over with Brighton in the top 4 so they have gone downhill technically since his appointment. Funny how narratives develop though.

          Counter that with Arsenal expected 3rd at best by our fans and plenty doubtful on top 4 and 5th at best by those who don’t support the club and ending up 2nd. Funny how narratives develop

  9. We were never good enough to win the league to begin with.
    A whole lot for Arteta and boys to learn for the challenge next season.
    I pray we all be around to see the improvements in the next campaign.

    What a season we’ve had by the way.

  10. Some one has to explain why Arsenal can’t play without Saka, even for 20 minutes!! This is seriously damaging his development. Arteta needs to know when he’s performing under par, and rest him. Let him watch the game from the sidelines so he can workout how he’s going to impact the game when he goes in. EMBARRASSING.

    1. No quality right wing option. All of Martinelli, ESR, Trossard and Nelson are better on the left. Also Saka is a machine. The narrative that he’s tired comes out everytime he doesn’t score for awhile, happened at the very start of the season. Then he started scoring and everyone shut up.

      Why we we were in for Raphina and everyone complained we didn’t need him.

  11. I don’t get one thing.

    Everytime Zinchenko plays, people here mouth how he can’t defend and we need Tierney to play

    Whenever Tierney plays, we are missing Zinchenko passing etc.

    So which one is it? I’m baffled

      1. A temporary solution to this conundrum though would to leave Tierney at fullback and have Zivchenko playing in his best position,which is midfield.

      2. Zinchenko should start in midfield..
        And Tierney as LB
        That’s simple..
        You have to bench Xhaka even though he is having great season but Zinchenko’s passing abilities are much more vital than Xhaka..
        And no one is saying Zinchenko can defend but at least Arteta can slot him in Midfield and Tierney as LB…
        By this you are solving the problem of defence and anyway there is no drop in quality when you replace Xhaka with Zinchenko in Midfield..

    1. Zinchecko and Tierney are two good players.

      While Tierney is always on the bench, Zinny is always bn played out of position.

    2. Zinchenko should be played in midfield, where his passing ability can be fully utilized and his defensive limitations can be minimized.

  12. My arguement is off topic, but i gat to say it.

    Betting companies play a mojor role in soccer, they are organized and protected.

    Have you not wondered why Everton Vs Brighton ended in 5-2?

    Today Mancity defeated Everton at home without conceding and Arsenal lost to Brighton at the Emirates without scoring.

    Something dont add up. Am sure alot of people lost their money today.

    Just saying

      1. Am only talking about how betting companies control the behavior on what to stake on.

        If Everton could destroy Brighton a week back 5-2, why cant Arsenal defeat them or even score.

        Lots of people expected a miracle from Everon today against City and they could not score a single goal.

        What happned to our defender again?

        1. What have betting companies got to do with results? You are clearly trying to say something but seem unable to make an understandable and concise comment.

          If you can spell out your thoughts in plain English, I will, despite my resolve to only debate with intelligent people, be prepared to discuss with you .If only to prevent you being muddled and to have some peace of mind that betting companiies HAVE NO INFLUENCE ON FOOTBALL RESULTS. Do at least TRY!

          1. To comply with Jon Fox, betting companies can’t financially compete with Premier League clubs or their owners.

            The money involved in the PL is something betting companies can’t compete with.

            If a PL club rakes in hundreds of millions a season, how much can betting company offer them?

            If a PL player average 50k a week, how much can a betting company offer the player and is it worth risking your wealthy career?

            1. Da Juhi, What do you mean by writing”To comply with Jon Fox”? Are you perhaps – I say “perhaps” as your point is not clear to me – trying to suggest I have some influence in this debate. . Because I HAVE NOT, and obviously NOT!

              In plain English WHAT EXACTLY are you saying? It SEEMS though I may well be wrong, that you are alleging that but for HUGE Prem player salaries, betting companies would be trying to buy influence from within clubs and possibly of individual players.

              ARE you saying that? Because if you are, that is a serious charge and you would need evidence, which you cannot possibly have.
              Of course, you MAY be trying to make a very different point, so please let us all know, IN PLAIN and easy to understand English!

    1. SHONE, what exactly are you alleging? Your post is incomplete and fails to make whatever point it is that you intended to say.

      Firstly, your facts are wrong, as Everton won 5-1, not 5-2 at Brighton,and any article that includes wrong facts is prone to fall upon stony ground.

      You are quite wrong to have doubts about such apparently surprising results being honestly produced. Betting companies and what they do are entirely irrelevant to matches and I see you are something of a conspiracy theorist and as such I OUGHT NOT TO WASTE MY TIME DEBATING WITH YOU.

      But its too late now as I have done, albeit foolishly.

      IF, which they are NOT, football matches were as predictable as you seem to IMPLY they ought to be (though you do NOT actually specifically say, I notice), football would be not worth watching.
      I would engage your brain, If I WERE YOU, BEFORE POSTING AGAIN.

      1. Why are you so bitter? I never said you should agree with my comment. And this is not an official statement, your brain should tell you its a typo.

        I will advice you to check ur blood pressure. A win today is a very long call, and i am sure City will either loose or draw a game.

        Its buseness as asual.

        1. Shone, Plainly, you do not understand English enough to debate sensibly. So please ignore my two other posts to you.

          I was, unwittingly, wasting my time and therefore yours too. I have nothing further to say to you but wish you well.

      2. I believe and one day it will come out, Man utd under Ferguson , Real and Barcelona did not win clean a lot of their trophies.

        A lot of conspiracy theories turned out to be true, why? Because when something is not right it shows.

        I am extremely surprised that people don’t see Wenger was sabotaged because he was a threat to what is happening now. Its so obvious.

        Its very naïve to think football is clean behind the curtains as it was eons ago.

    2. Shone, I think I understand where you’re coming from. Although I don’t think there is match fixing going on. Is that what you are querying ? If I’ve misunderstood you, I’m sorry.
      I think the main reason strange occurences happen in sport (as in other aspects of life) is that human beings are frail creatures. Sport can be very unpredictable because people are unpredictable. I myself constantly question almost every strange event and I’m naturally suspicious of everyone. That probably makes me a very sad person.
      The Brighton 1-5 loss at home to Everton was the most shocking result of the season, not necessarily just because Brighton lost, but they lost so emphatically and to a team that hardly ever scores ! Brighton are, in my opinion, along with Newcastle the most improved team in the PL this season.
      However I’ve noticed that every now and again they have a shocker, only to completely reverse the result in the next game they play. Recently they surprisingly lost at Forest and then in their next game they soundly thrashed Wolves 6-0. This is admittedly a bit erratic but that is sport my friend. It would seem that the manager (De Zerbi) does not allow them to play two consecutively poor games, and I think his massive influence on that team ensures that they come back strong, which is what they did today. Add to this Arsenal can sometimes be mentaly frail, then you have a recipe for Gunners disaster.
      Although there have been instances of proven match fixing in the past, I think that generally the game is probably clean. It is very true though that the world is full of corruption and I actually wouldn’t blame anyone for having suspicions when strange results happen.
      Finally, it only takes one or two players to have an off day and any manner of bizarre result can occur. Today all of our players were really poor, while Brighton who are a very able team, were very good. Add to this, they also seem to love playing at the Emirates. Sorry for such a
      long-winded reply.

      1. EvGunner, Not “long winded” at all but thoughtful, with shrewd analysis and the obvious truth

        A rare gem on this thread, among the disappointing dross of self entitlement from so many non loyal fans.

  13. Saw sth in this squad today. Their insides are made of Jelly. When the going gets tough they crumble.

    Don’t expect too much of them or u are going to get disappointed again and again.

    U can make do with the wins and occasional good run of form.. But winning the PL or CL is very far from them.

  14. It all looked to be too much errort today. Brighton had energy and commitment. We had nothing to be honest. It’s looking like City will win the league by a larger points margin and deservedly so. Today was shocking considering we were still on the time chase. Yes, we have bottled it again this season. Just as they did last year!

    1. I thought all the long balls from the keeper to our forward, we had signed Haarland!!!!!!!! What a stupid thing to do, persist in something that wasn’t going to work and plainly didn’t work.

  15. It’s down to us to put it up to teams like Brighton, not the other way round. Saw too much of this roll over and tickle me behaviour under Wenger and I don’t want to see it again. Can we make Katie McCabe available for the men’s team?

  16. This lot just can’t deliver under pressure, simple. FA Cup loss, Europa disappointment at home, and that 3 game collapse with pool, Southampton, and West Ham.

    Such a limp, dead fish display today. Players looked checked out, Arteta outmatched, Brighton looked like the home team.

    Outplayed and outclassed, title was over couple weeks ago, this was the sound of the door slamming shut.

    1. Durand, I too have been concerned eith the lack of mental strength, when the going gets tough or opposition gets physical. While pleased with the improvement in the EPL placing, I am extremely disappointed in Arsenal’s limp exits from the Europa League and domestic cups.

  17. TBH We just didn’t turn up today, our pressing was terrible (nonexistent), our passing was terrible, we were not even trying to get to the second ball, no overruns, I would like to know the reason for that, this was our worst match of the season. You can take losing, but losing like this with no fight is not right. Fan tickets should be refunded.

  18. There are times when you just have to acknowledge that your team has been outplayed by a Brighton side who were excellent throughout.That said their 3 goals were all avoidable and Kiwior, Trossard and Ramsdale will not want to watch any video replays that’s for sure.Kiwior has to realise that physical pain has to be endured at critical times and his lack of awareness of the pressure we were under beggars belief.No doubt Arteta will let him know what is expected of him when the going gets tough in future.Every Brighton player made an excellent contribution and indeed I think their display was the best I have seen at the Emirates this season.As for Arsenal, our lack of pace in midfield was brutally exposed today and neither Xhaka, Jorginho nor Odegaard could retain possession faced with a swarm of Brighton opponents with terrific energy and skill..After moving to the left Mitoma caused White big problems and you can see how he, Caicedo and MacAllister are attracting attention from a number of top Club.Our players will be down after this defeat and a number of them look to be played out.Arteta will have his work cut out to revive them for the matches against Forrest and Wolves as we don’t want the season to end on a sour note.

    1. Grandad You are of course, so right.

      But personally, I prefer to take the longer view and now that the title is lost, though not technically, but lost all the same, we need not worry overmuch about our last two games. Mind I say “overmuch” not “not at all”.

      We are guaranteed second place and but for SALIBA s untimely injury , would IMO ,have run City extremely close.

      We need now to concentrate on shipping out those players who are widely agreed to be well below the level we need – you know as well as I do who they are- and then spend whatever rmoney Kroenke allows us shrewdly and wisely.

      We also ALL need to allow that to build a squad as deep and talented as Citys is a mighty task and cannot possibly be completed this summer.

      I expect another serious title challenge next season but while City continue to strengthen year after year, we cannot possibly be favourites.

      I repeat, personally I take the longer view and put disappointments where I PUT ALL lifes disappointments; in the past.

      1. jon, unfortunately one would expect that Manchester United, Newcastle United, Liverpool, Aston Villa and even Chelsea (with a new manager to sort them out) will spend money and be more competetive next season. Arsenal cannot afford to rest on any perceived laurels, from what many see as a missed opportunity this season.

  19. Brighton had 59% of the ball today, played 442 accurate passes to Arsenal’s 277 and had six shots on target to Arsenal’s two. Even when Manchester City won at the Emirates, they did not dominate the game as comprehensively as that.Mentally our players are down and I felt that our they had thrown in their towel in the title race b4 2day’s game even began

    1. I think you you got it spot on Brett, our boys must have had their hopes crushed after the Man City-Eve result and it showed rather obviously ! Not now, for years we have been a side easily rattled by teams that are physical. A few strong challenges in the first 15-20 mins, we tend to lose the focus and the game eventually !

  20. The worst performance I have ever seen from us.
    Gutless, spineless lacked any form of urgency.
    However’ we have to park this and move on.
    A great season finishing second

  21. To be honest we actually over achieved this season and that should be celebrated by every realistic Arsenal fan. For me, we are not yet a top 4 team.The project still has a long way to go. You do not win the league when you only have 11 good starters and your substitutes are all not at the level expected of players for the big 6 teams in the EPL. We were always one injury away from a disaster from day one of the season due to lack of depth and our season effectively ended when Saliba got injured. Man City, Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool were all supposed to finish above us this season because they have better quality, maturity and depth. With the squad we have at the moment, we are supposed to be competing with Tottenham and Newcastle for Europa and Conference League qualification, but we over achieved and teams with better quality under achieved. A top 4 finish next season will be very difficult unless we make at least 4 world class additions to the squad. Our competitors have got two world class players in every position.That is what we need if we are to turn our team into serious title contenders on a sustainable basis. For this season, we need to celebrate what we achieved. It is way above our level. The good thing is that most of our players are young and they will be better and more mature next season. We are just 3 to 4 world class signings away from having a competitive squad.

    1. I hope someone else in here agrees with you aside myself.
      Even Arteta admitted to fact they’ve move well beyond scheduled expectation.

      Personally, I gave up any hope of winning anything weeks ago.

      I just hope Arteta learns from all these.

      Unwittingly, he has raised the bar massively with this season’s performance. So he will be severely judged next season.

      1. Evidently we need to strengthen the squad. However, I can’t agree with the view that we are not a top 4 side.

  22. What has surprised me most over the past two months is the lack of energy we have. No, it’s not the lack of depth. We’ve only been playing in one competition. City are still in three with way more energy. Even Brighto are playing more games and had more energy. This squad are suffering from a mental issue and the lack of belief is still a major factor. So many of our most experienced players go missing at the worst times. Something true champions never do. Until we oust these issues we only ever be chasing and pretending! That was so bad today!

  23. POOR! No real shape or control. Poor tactics, long ball to Jesus, WHAT WAS THAT??? Our shape was a disgrace and totally outplayed. I thought White was atrocious. Jesus was a mess and a massive let down by all.

  24. Had we narrowly missed out on the title, I would have looked back on the four dropped points against Southampton, not taking all three points against Westham, allowing United at Old Trafford to outsmart us and of course the video referees refusal to draw the offside line against Brentford as major points of contention, however this loss simply brings us down to earth to face the reality that our squad is currently not good enough, some of the cut price dross has to go and another three serious signings are needed.

    1. Joe.S agree with your overall assessment, but “dross” is too strong and unfair on players playing to their ability.

  25. A disappointing resulted that all but ended the slim chance we had bit again disappointing with so called fans ranting and raving about our team
    A team that has entertained us all season. Got us to 2nd and given our pride back.
    We were still being talked about being title contender in mid May… been a long time since that happened.
    Plus the better team won today. I hate losing but I thought Brighton were fabulous today and hats off to them for such a fine display.
    Onwards and can’t say upwards for this season
    2 to go but wanted to thank the team, manager and arsenal football club for restoring my faith back in to this club. I have witnessed some great football, over come some big challenges.
    We will come back stronger

    1. Will share that with you AB08. As Turkish said on aftv after the City loss, thanks Michael Arteta for giving us fans something to believe in this season.

    2. Alan, what a breath of fresh air you are. A true supporter , among the many Judas’s on here.

  26. Well , with that loss, a deserved one . It’s now confirmed that my Arsenal jersey goes up in flames! Made a bet with a colleague that he will wear an Arsenal shirt all season when Arsenal plays and in return I’ll burn mine if we loose the title. I’ll now have to honor my promise as soon as it is mathematically confirmed. I am really proud of what we have achieved this season the icing ideally could have been us winning the league.

    1. The best team won today without a doubt we were very poor but credit to Brighton for the way they played! Think this shows how much more quality we require to challenge prob at least 5 top class players and mean top class to give us a shout of challenging for the tittle!

    2. You are not a fan, to burn your Arsenal shirt shows what a loser you really are and I don’t think you have the right to follow Arsenal anymore. so jog on mate plastic

  27. I FEEL ASHAMED TO BE AN ARSENAL FAN TONIGHT . Nothing to do with our team but with our so called “loyal fans” who plainly do not know what loyalty meqns. What a sorry bunch – though with certain predictable bright minded exceptions who have the ability to think first – we have on here.

    Many of you don’t deserve to support our great club. Some of you dont even know what SUPPORT is!

    1. By the way jon. Mikel Arteta apologized to the supporters after the game for Arsenal’s poor performance against Brighton at the Emirates.

      1. Arteta’s apology is understandable as that has now become standard after poor performances. However, a lot of fans have let themselves down. Fans leaving the stadium early, some of the ridiculous diatribes on this site… etc…

    2. Spot on, I always stay to the final whistle, always have always will, afternoon kick-off so no worries about the last train etc, etc. We have had a great season and that’s what we should be looking at. Odegaard 15 goals Martinelli 15 goals, Saka 13 goals not bad for a midfield. We need to buy early so we can be ready for the start of next season.

    1. Joe.S unfortunately the facts before us do not lie; Arsenal just not good enough.

  28. CONGRATULATIONS!

    This is the EPL-
    The toughest/BEST league in the world!

    And the SECOND youngest squad, coached with the second youngest coached couch got SECOND POSITION!
    (By the way,the youngest squad coached by the youngest coach was the FIRST team relegated!)
    There can only be IMPROVEMENT going forward.

    Of course the team can not please everyone -even if they won the league, someone would still criticize HOW they won it!

  29. It is not arguable that our Arsenal problem starts with mentality and responsibility. In the first case, our players seem to conclude opinion about games before it is played. They fear some and underrate few other teams and in both cases, we lose. There are other teams we consider just strong and take the contest on to win. We lose matches because most of the players fear to take responsibility of confronting opponents at the midfield. Instead they take the crab-walk-back allowing the same opponents into a shooting range. It is only in Arsenal that you could watch four to five players being pushed back to block the goalkeeper instead of confronting or fowling an opponent at a distance. Arsenal must learn to stop their opponents far from the 18-yard space either by dispossessing them of the ball or by any form of fowl. Ramsdale is a good stopper but must help us by coming out of the post with his hand in set-pieces and making long passes if he must increase his record of clean sheets. Arseanal loss in the Gunners -Seagulls match was most disappointing and cannot be excused with our guaranteed milestone second position in 2022/23 Season from a fifth last season.

  30. Now into the champions league and I think it’s time to freshen up coz if we are to rely on the likes of nketia holding elneny in the upcoming season then we are doomed. Imagine a fixture of arsenal vs Madrid with Ben white battling Vinicius 😂😂😂😂. It’s time kroenke to show your worth

  31. My suspicion is Arsenal were demoralised the moment Man city crushed Everton. They almost had no reason to play for. They are already guaranteed 2nd place and they could hope for nothing better. By all imagination our players have exceeded expectations! Besides Arteta’s team selection was poor today. There was no reason to bench Party against a physical team like Everton. The moment Martinelli got injured was the time we lost a threat from the left wing. Saka has been off colour for sometime now. My puzzle however remains why ESR hasn’t been playing! We have played all the other players leaving ESR on the bench which I believe hasn’t been in good taste. There is no reason why Nelson should be playing if he doesn’t want to sign a new deal.
    We can’t undo what has happened but our fans also need to respect the team as fans of other clubs do. Why should fans leave the stadium in protest when things don’t go according to expectations? This was pure lack of class and is not excusable! The team should feel loved even when the situation isn’t good. Hopefully our fans will change their ways.

    1. It was shocking to see the crowds leave in droves and I fully agree with your sentiments.

      The fact that Sky switched to showing the streets outside the ground heaving with people was in poor taste.

  32. So this season is over and we will end second. Reality is we’ve had 1 really good half of a season that’s about it, you could see performances were dropping since Jan even though we were still picking up the points for a while. This is the cost of an almost zero rotation policy and no game time for back-ups, now when we need them it’s no surprise they aren’t up to fitness/sharpness.

    Anyway I ask this question, what does progress look like next season?

  33. I think there were 2 issues:
    1. City beating Everton just before affected us mentally. I think the players tried, but weren’t able to muster up that bit of resilience they showed against Newcastle. Once Brighton scored, it was basically over.
    2. Brighton had a game plan to beat us that worked really well. We were expecting them to try to pass through us, but they continually went long to create counter attacking situations, and we had no answer to it. We need to be able to adapt, but i think we have one way of playing atm and are rarely able to change things enough when we need to.

    Other thing to say is that Brighton are a proper team. They just keep on bringing in top quality, hungry players and fitting them into their side. Everyone has been talking about mitoma this season, rightly so, but the winger they’ve brought in for the other side of the pitch is just as good. It’s remarkable, what they’re doing.

    1. Interesting points.
      On the first point it is difficult to judge. It was always likely that City would beat Everton. Maybe the ease with which MC won had an effect? It is worth noting that a number of players have dropped their levels in recent weeks and a couple of key players were unavailable.
      Brighton’s game plan was certainly very effective. This was a game for a fit and in form Partey to have started. I think he would have been more likely to have given us more presence in midfield. It is worth noting that Brighton have given us problems in recent years.
      I agree Brighton are a very good team. They have been playing well for some years now. It’s mainly been their lack of presence up front that has been their undoing.

      1. I think the problem was that they bypassed the midfield, so partey might not have helped from that perspective – perhaps we needed to press more effectively higher up the pitch? Agree though, that an in form partey would have helped us to build our attacks more effectively. We couldn’t hold onto the ball long enough – that was just as important as their long ball tactic. Credit to Brighton again, though, they are very good at pressing from the front.
        I think Evan ferguson gives them that presence, though he’s just getting started as a pro – another Brighton player I wouldn’t mind us signing!

  34. Simply the team has run out of steam, it was always going to happen, we just didn’t have the quality to replace players like Saliba who got injured. This season has been a learning curve, we have achieved runners-up, and we are back in the CL. We need to invest properly, to compete with City we need good backup players, Arteta needs to develop what Pep does and have a plan b and c. This will hurt the team as we were so close to the PL title, just like last season when we were so close to CL qualification. Arsenal didn’t bottle it, the same eleven virtually all season was always going to come back and bite us on the arse. Let’s pick ourselves up, invest in the Summer, and be ready to go next season. It has been a great season, not losing one London Derby, Beating Spurs twice, beating Liverpool and Man Utd, when was the last time this happened? Was disappointed so many fans left early, the team needed to know in spite of the loss we are still behind them, I stay as always to applaud them.

Comments are closed

Top Blog Sponsors