Brighton v Arsenal Review – Gunners hold on for tough draw…..

Arsenal shot out of the blocks and Bukayo Saka nearly put us in front in the first minute, but for the next half hour Brighton bossed Arsenal completely and if their strikers knew how to head a ball we would have been 3 behind by half-time.

The Seagulls had twice the attempts on goal in the first period, and Shane Duffy skied a ball in the box to save Arsenal’s blushes and Maupay and Dan Burn squandered chances.

Arsenal actually came closest to scoring when Aubameyang connected to a cross but he only managed to hit the post.

With ten minutes before the break Duffy saw another attempt go the wrong side of the post, and suddenly Arsenal came to life and went into attacking mode, with the best chance falling to Thomas Partey who also went the wrong side of the post.

All in all, it was lucky that Arsenal got to halftime without a goal against, but with the rain pouring down we were hoping to see more chances in the second half.

The second half was continuing the theme from the first, but Aubameyang looked through on goal but not only was it ruled offside, he got tackled anyway, so still no luck.

Brighton look like a very hard team to break down and defend like giants, and on the hour Arteta swapped the ineffective Odegaard for Pepe to try and introduce some creativity.

That didn’t help much so he then brought on Lacazette for Aubameyang, but Brighton just kept piling on the pressure but without finding a way through.

Smith-Rowe had a quick breakaway but shot straight at the keeper for our second attempt on target, but Brighton were unfazed and just kept trying to get into the Arsenal box. Maupay had a go, then Ramsdale had to make an excellent save as the Seagulls went for the win.

Arsenal finally got another breakaway and it was Smith-Rowe again that had an ignored penalty call, but Brighton carried on regardless and kept going.

It was a very tough day at the Amex, as predicted, but I would say I am very happy that we held on for a point after watching Brighton batter us in the pouring rain….

141 Comments

  1. Unfortunately, Arsenal chose to play safe by making excessive long goal kicks, hence Aubameyang was dominated in the air by Brighton’s towering CBs

    If Brighton had someone like Giroud, Antonio or Lukaku in their front line, they would’ve scored first. We still have a big confidence problem

    1. As I said to you before he had to kick long because of Brighton’s high press. He did make a fabulous save late on that saved us though.

      1. This is Arteta’s second full season. So we should’ve been able to build from the back, regardless of the opposition’s high pressing

        I understood he wanted to play safe due to the weather and the field conditions, but nobody could win our long balls against Dunk and Duffy. Can’t wait until he gets his own CF

        1. Lol… He gets his own CF… no offense but I wonder if this is a joke or a serious argument. Do you really think that goals would flow when arteta has his own CF ? Is it just a CF problem ? But what is very strange is that, If so : why arteta did not sell even for cheap Laca and or Auba this summer ?? I am curious. He already had 3 mercatos to get his own CF (even 4 😅 but i will not count the first one when he was occupied in bringing pablo mari and cedric to the club LOL) but did not buy any. Strange. You have already Auba, laca and you can also field Nketiah. Ok they are not lukaku or benzema but Arteta has at his disposal way way better option than 2/3 of the prem.

          1. Maybe not goals, but the new CF might be able to pose better aerial challenges to the opposition’s CBs

            We can’t sell our senior CFs, if no club is willing to buy them. Especially since other clubs can sign Lacazette for free at the end of this season

            Have you seen how Nketiah and Balogun played as CF in some EPL games? They couldn’t do good hold-up play at all

          2. Aerial threat ? GAI we were linked with abraham and arteta did not move for him. And you will argue that arteta will buy an aerial threat CF soon ? Arteta could have sold players this summer. We would not have recoup a big fee but at least we would have save their wages. Laca is almost on 10m a year. Letting him go for 10m we would have save 20m. Will we find a better option than abraham next year for his 2021 price (40m) plus that 20m we lost ? Same stupid move to keep elneny… They said they would not let players go to the end of thwir contract and still, it keeps going on like that. And i did not mention Nketiah that we could have given to brighton for almost 20m. But anyway lets see which forward will come to arsenal

          3. @Johnze : We couldn’t get Abraham, because we couldn’t offload one of our senior CFs. Real transfer market isn’t like FIFA 21 or Football Manager 2021, where we can cut a player’s price tag in half to sell him quickly

        2. GAi what do you mean fifa 21 ?! I dont play at this game. And i wont argue too much time on that because i think you are wrong, no offense. We just did not sell him because arteta was not sure if he wanted to sell him or not. Suarez had one year left with barca and left for a 6m fee… Is it fifa 21 ?! LOL. But an example, arteta or edu or the club wanted almost the same amount for elneny fee weeks ago LOL. So no it is not more complicated, had arsenal wanted out laca, he might have gone. But probably not for 15, 20 or 25…

      1. I think he chose a wrong career, Sue 😂

        Potter must’ve been glad we paid 50 M for his shortest CB

      2. @Sue, lol. You are correct. Those Brighton defenders are so tall. Pepe standing beside Burn looked like a David vs Goliath.
        A tough game I must say. There are still more games to play.

    2. GAI, too many ifs, buts and maybes. Brighton & Hove are where they are on the table for a reason, even though they don’t have the strike power of a Chelsea.
      A lucky draw for Arsenal.

  2. Probably our best performance of the season so far. Excellent away point at a top 4 side. Can’t fault the performance. After we beat both Palace and Villa at home we may go top 6. Trust the process. Lets get behind the team. COYG

    1. You must be joking? We had no guts in playing from the back

      Aubameyang struggled against Dunk and Duffy alone

      1. Remember not so long ago, we would have lost a game like that. It shows some guts to get something from it tonight.

      2. GAI have asked you this question before but you’ve always either ignored it or you probably don’t see it so I’m going to ask again. What’s Arteta brand of football, is it tiki taka, counter attacking, possession based or defensive tactics.

        1. Tiki taka is always executed with high ball possession. Arteta forced his players to do that last season, but now he’s becoming more realistic by making more long goal kicks

          1. @Lenohappy : I have answered this multiple times. It’s a high ball possession system with positional play

            If you still don’t understand or if you’d like to mock the fans who you think have been defending Arteta, I suggest you pay more attention to our games

          2. GAI on the I’m not mocking you for supporting Arteta, I support the club Instead. I don’t know tactics like you but if I’m correct last weekend we played possession tiki taka in the first half and in the second half, we played counter attacking, today now we played high ball so it’s confusing knowing Arteta pattern.

        1. They lost two key players, so we should’ve been able to get three points. Their weakness will be shown when Man City visit them next month

  3. A point gained but dissapointing performance by some
    on a another day we would have folded
    Another clean sheet
    Aubameyang was so poor tonight

    1. Agree on all points tonight. Poor weather but tactically outrun, outplayed in midfield 2 vs 3/4. Lokonga needs to bulk up, felt sympathy for Partey.
      Not sure whether Arteta was naive or overcautious – either way it was the wrong move. Partey, Gabriel, Laca (should have been on earlier) excellent, Auba back to his awful worst, Pepe – waste of a sub, the rest just not good. If generous I put it down to youth and lack of experience.
      Most annoyed that they were quicker, keener, more skillful all over the pitch. Good team.

  4. One thing i dont understand, if GK has ro take long kick because of opponent pressing, why back four stays back ro receive the ball. Even if they receive the left back or right back passes long ultimately losing the ball. Net result zero. We deew because we didn’t challenge headers and first touches. Brighton played like Gods, made us look like arrcington stanley

  5. Well that wasn’t surprising.
    Getting bullied by Brighton, despite how glaring it is to see, folks who chose to stand firm on disregarding Xhaka will still tell you he brings nothing to the pitch.
    Look how weak that midfield was, we couldn’t even string together a few passes and everything was just loosed with no one to control or instruct the team on the pitch.
    Partey was trying to be everywhere and couldn’t do it alone.
    Sambi, a good kid and with potential yeah, but he just couldn’t stamp his foot on the game and be doesn’t bring the dictating that Xhaka brings.
    Love to see him take the chances coming up ahead though.
    Xhaka kills our attack heh? Today we played sublime and direct football with him. More of that amazing quick football please. We definitely won’t miss him in the midfield, and we didn’t even miss him today.

    Good game for Ramsdale, good game for the decent who despite conceded a couple of chances, kept the clean sheet.
    Now Imagine how that midfield would’ve looked like if Bissouma played.

    Xhaka is useless and brings nothing to the team eh?
    On to the next one.

    1. Xhaka would’ve been feeding Tierney through the left wing. Lokonga will never be able to do that, because of the angle

      Magalhaes is supposed to make those passes when Xhaka doesn’t play, but he was too busy handling Brighton’s high pressing

      1. Gai
        There is just something Xhaka brings to our play. Unfortunately many fans sees his weakness on the pitch than what he does in games. I guess he was missed today by the coach. Fans? may be not but I bet I am different.
        A big thumpup to our defense Gabriel was outstanding. I think Lacazette should have come in much earlier. Unfortunately PEPE needs more playing time to pickup form.

        1. I agree Lacazette should’ve replaced Aubameyang earlier. Sad to see him leaving, because I think he’s still our best CF

    2. Imagine an immobile Xhaka in rainy conditions away from home with Brighton using a high press. He would have been caught out at least 5 times in awful position right in front of the defence and had us concede 2 goals as a result.

      The Xhaka delusion is getting unreal.

      1. Yeah mate an immobile Xhaka.
        Your hatred will always blind you, you need some therapy to get that feeling off your heart.
        The most progressive passer we’ve had this season and the one who makes that left midfield and defense side solid would’ve caused us a loss today.
        You want me to start pointing to you how many times Lokonga and Partey got caught napping today??
        Our blushes were saved by Brighton’s terrible finishing.

        The Xhaka hate is unreal.

        1. @Eddie. You were the one who introduced Xhaka into the conversation because you could not wait for some one to mention Xhakas absence so you could say but we kept a clean sheet. I could tell your first comment was a very badly worded trap. Did not fool me one bit. Very amateurish. Your own hate is too strong son you need to take a chill pill.

          1. Oh dear me.. look who we have here.
            Run along Kid, go do that crap with your mates.
            I made a comment about us missing Xhaka whole also making a comment about how good the defense was.
            By all means wallow in whatever delusion and hatred you want to

        2. You tell yourself what you need to. I didn’t feel the need to bring him up when he wasn’t even on the pitch.

          P.S. Lokonga and Partey losing possession a lot in terrible conditions doesn’t prove anything about Xhaka. Yes, our defense has been so solid with Xhaka there that we’ve lost 3 out of 4 matches badly with him featuring. What a lucky charm.

          1. Wow, which of the defense lost the 3 games?
            Was is it this same defense that has kept 3 clean sheets now and played solidly?
            Or in what alternate universe did Xhaka play with this defense and had us losing 3 games?
            Xhaka’s the reason we lot those games?
            Lol.

            Also I brought him up only to make a point that we missed him today, and suddenly there’s a problem with me doing that?
            When Gabriel was injured and Mari was playing, we all talked about how Gabriel was being missed and how he would’ve done better than Mari, but I’m not allowed to make a comment highlighting that miss Xhaka?
            The moment I do that, I’m trying to stir up something?
            Bro Make it make sense please

          2. Maybe you shouldn’t have said this season then if you actually meant a different season with a different defence.

            (possibly in a different universe with a different Xhaka)

        3. Sorry can’t agree with you, Xhaka is not good enough for the premier league, don’t hate him it’s just my opinion, after all he was for sale in the summer but no one took a chance, at best he’s a squad player.

    3. Eddie I’m really grateful xhaka didn’t play this match, he would have either gave away a goal or see red. The Brighton high pressing would have been too much for xhaka.

      1. Really now??
        Really bro? You made this conclusion based on what? His history?
        I can also make a case that based on history, Brighton’s high press would’ve been useless too because we control the tempo and keep possession better with Xhaka on the pitch.
        It’s all about perspective, everyone’s making it look like he’s one terrible player.
        5 red cards in 5 years for Arsenal with the most appearances all the while.
        You’d think he had one terrible record over the years

      2. Spot on Lenohappy, I think I made a comment yesterday that if we draw or loose these xakha fans will come out in large number telling us we don’t do anything when xakha isn’t available

      3. You must be smoking weed. Xhaka would have bossed the midfield.
        Many here just comment and have no knowledge of the game. Those who understand the game know he is a special player

        1. Men we have had shockers with him playing so for me I don’t see his relevant here. That xakha absence its inexcusable

      4. Is Partey proving to be an awful signing. So slow in possession.
        Odegaard again don’t impose on the game

    4. I believe we need more than xhaka in our midfiled. xhaka played the first three games in the season. did we win or draw. the answer is no. we lost all three. we played burnley and norwich, we won without Xhaka. yes he was ok against tottenham and yes he is an enigma like ozil. some will love him some will think the team is better without him. Today we played BHA, we were outplayed yes, but we did not lose. Xhaka didnt play. who knows, maybe of he had played we would have won or lose or the results would still be the same. The point is,this team need someone far better in that midfiled than Xhaka. If Xhaka leave tomarrow we will rant only for a week and then move on.

    5. One thing Granit Xhaka brings to the team, particularly when played along side Thomas Partey, is physicality (despite his brain implosion).
      I would like to see Calum Chambers given an opportunity given his experience and size. Partey can’t be left to be a one man midfield in breaking up lay and defense.
      Shocking conditions, weather wise to play decent football.

  6. I think the big difference today was Potter has got a direction for Brighton and a way of playing, he is getting more out of Brighton than is being put in. Arteta isnt getting anything extra out of Arsenal. Brighton totally outplayed us and we were lucky to get the draw. Tomiasu, White, Odergard and Auba a big let down. Auba should have been subbed before the hour when it was obvious it wasn’t working. The other 3 looked lost and we were a little like headless chickens today. Great point because it wasn’t reallly deserved.

    1. @Reggie
      Agree 100%
      We look like not giving 100% in every other game.
      No desrire, no intensity and we give so much time and space to the opponents.
      No chance of becoming a top 4 team like that.

  7. Thought it’d be tough but sheesh! A poor 90 from us, one to forget!
    Thought ESR played well though and Ramsdale saved us at the end but that’s your lot!
    Fair play to Potter/Brighton..

    Well done to the ladies – 4-0 👍

  8. Smith-Rowe and Gabriel were our only stand outs. Horrible conditions but still disappointing in two areas for me – not brave to play out meant we constantly losing 50/50 balls. Secondly but related, Brighton won almost every 50/50. They wanted it more. They are a good team and will beat good teams at the Amex. No shame in a point.

  9. Guys, it was a tough game. The players did well. ESR should have passed that ball to Pepe, it could have been a goal.
    We can’t win all matches. There are no easy games.

    Our defence deserve credit also. A clean sheet is a positive.

    Arteta should understand that he has to rotate more. He should have played Aubameyang on the left and Lacazette in CF position from the start

    Saka deserves a rest as well to avoid injuries.

    The way Saka is playing every game, we might have a Jack Wilshere situation with long term injuries.

    Martinelli should get more game time.

    1. Yes ESR should have made a quick early pass to Pépé.. it was 2 v 1 situation wheb ESR received the ball
      Instead of passing he went away from goal created a tight angle for to score..
      Bad decision making

      1. ESR messed up there, and also Laca should have been brought on earlier cos this game never suited auba..BiG mistake from arteta

        1. Arteta is the coach and that’s why are just spectators and talkatives. I wish we were coaches, our teams will have long been relegated. It’s easy to talk tactics when you are on social media. Just back the coach and trust the process.

          1. Can people stop saying “trust the process” please it is getting really annoying because there isn’t one ffs

  10. martinelli should have played some part in the game at least hell run and chase pepe in the wind and rain LOL,party cant realy pass r shoot sambi played well,mavropanos scores again better than white

    1. Liverpool will come in for Martinelli. Where would you rather sit on the bench, given more competitions to get game time if you were a professional footballer?

  11. Some players were having some serious difficulties with the rain today. Auba, Tierney, and Tomiyasu in particular. Lakonga needs to not shoot.

    Hard conditions and slightly outplayed overall but getting a point from an in form team at their turf in bad conditions is fine. Upwards and onwards.

      1. I could have sworn I saw Lokonga sky two shots as well. Maybe I’m mistaken. Partey actually has a decent shot, but honestly most long shots are a complete waste of an attack.

        1. Arteta is the coach and that’s why are just spectators and talkatives. I wish we were coaches, our teams will have long been relegated. It’s easy to talk tactics when you are on social media. Just back the coach and trust the process.

  12. Hot and cold – chalk and cheese – bonnie and clyde – and any other positives /negatives anyone can think fits two performances just seven days apart.

    I was really impressed with Brighton and they have an excellent manager in Graham Potter.

    A point, after being outclassed for most of the game, is a good result and keeps our run going.
    This young squad will improve as the season goes on (at least that’s my hope) and our defence, under immense pressure, kept a clean sheet, the third since Ramsdale “arrived” and I hope no one is questioning the fee paid for Aaron, that last minute save was incredible.

    Yes, I’m disappointed with the game / performance and I wonder how much Xhaka was missed?

    1. In this type of game he was missed a lot Ken. They bullied us physically and youngsters like Lokanga couldn’t deal with it. Learning curve for a few noobs… Weather didn’t help. Auba stuck out as being particularly poor – thought Laca should have come on at half time.
      A point away to a very well organised team in attrocious weather, so not the end of the world.

      1. Nop this game wouldn’t have favored xhaka at all yes he is strong but his marking are slow and brighting were just so fast he would have caused a whole lot of fouls and will be booked for that

        1. They were without Bissouma, a far bigger loss to them than xhaka to us. We didn’t miss xhaka as much as them Bissouma, they just coped better because their tactics were right, ours were not.

      2. guy, that’s my view as well re. Xhaka.
        I also thought AMN should have started, simply because of his PL experience.

        Not sure what Bassouma has to do with analysing our performance Reggie??
        For those who cite Xhaka’s red cards (while not comparing their playing abilities) let’s all remember the number that one of our Invincible legends, Patrick Vieira, received…. nonsense to keep hammering Xhaka on this stat.

        1. The point is ken, some saying we missed xhaka, im saying Brighton missed a better player than xhaka and it didn’t affect them at all. Even if you do rate xhaka, it cant be used as an excuse because they missed a player in a similar position and coped just fine.

          1. Spot on Reggie…the very fact that he tried to preface his Xhaka/Vieira comparison with a comment about Vieira’s obvious superiority simply means that you can completely disregard anything that followed this caveat as the very reason you came to accept the occasional red card from Vieira was because of his dominance on the pitch, which is clearly not the case when it comes to Xhaka

          2. True Trvl, i never mentioned red cards or xhakas ability, i was highlighting that anyone saying we missed xhaka today is shallow and biased because Brighton (the mighty Brighton) didn’t miss Bissouma or try to use it as an excuse, they coped and thats what any team has to do.

  13. Not quite sure why the push down on ESR wasn’t a penalty, looked that way to me, unless the slo mo made it look worse than it was ….

  14. Two players only played well. ESR was by far our best player. Ramsdale did all he needed to do competently, with one esp good save. Partey was at least in the game and busy, despite his many mistakes.

    Most of the rest were dreadful, esp Odegaard, Tomiyasu, Auba ,Tierney, White, Lokonga.

    A set back for us though, despite a brave and defensive point against a really decent opponent.

    Could have been worse but those being honest with themselves will surely be disappointed in the overall performance.

    Overall not nearly enough effort and determination to be first to the ball.

    1. All true Foxy. I must also agree with RVL’s view below. Either Arteta was totally outthought or overly defensive – either way Artetaball didn’t come out of the game with any credit tonight.

  15. simple yet entirely apt pundit review…they were better on the ball and they were better off the ball, as such it was a disappointing performance…Arteta’s particular brand of negative football was totally counter-intuitive considering our opponent’s tactical philosophy…that my friends was another MA masterclass in tactical naivety

    1. Trvl, i just dont like the set up of the team on and off the ball. We get caught wide open far too often and our forward play lacks intelligence. Potter has Brighton buzzing on a shoestring, we are getting nothing extra out of our play. A lot of our tactics stifle our attacks and our strengths aren’t used and our weaknesses are exploited. No beating about the bush, we were outplayed by a lesser team.

      1. No doubt Reggie, if I were Potter I couldn’t have been more pleased by our poor, largely static approach to the game, where it looked like once again our little micro-manager spent a whole bunch of time on the training pitch admonishing guys for taking the direct attacking option whenever it presented itself…you can’t rely on wide side crosses against such a tall group of defenders who specialize in those type of set piece-like coverages…you have to attack them by making their defenders have to employ a lot of quick twitch maneuvers with their big feet, which requires a more direct/pacey approach when it comes to ball movement…thankfully Brighton was incredibly wasteful in and around the box or this would have been what I refer to as a silver platter affair…we were so static in our movement that I counted no less than a dozen foot or less passes, which is so both easy to defend and prone to giveaways…not to mention, whenever I see passes to the trailing foot of the wide side player, I know this is the managerial equivalent of shooting 36 under at the NO BALLS OPEN

        1. Yawn surprise. Explain to me where the players let us down on the pitch today in terms of tactics? Be waiting. They did btw so this should be a lay-up

          1. judging from your comment more direct you think wins the game? One of the worst points is we went direct too often, did you watch the game?

          2. more direct/pacey, bad description but you mean (deduced from your other comments) balls central essentially but with pace and move. Happened repeated in the the final 3rd. Did you see Auba’s offside? and a few other attacks based on exactly that. Was not our problem playing in the final 3rd the problem was getting the ball in to that situation in the 1st place. Where we lost.

          3. Angus, you can spew nonsense until your blue in the face, but it will never change the fact that you aren’t very knowledgeable about the game itself…you will earn a spot at the adult’s table when you bring something more to the equation than the usual senseless “rah, rah” Arteta apologist banter…instead of focusing all your energies trying to convince everyone that black is white, when that’s clearly not the reality of the situation, put some actual effort into really examining the more nuanced shades of grey components of the game

            1. There you go again. You spend all that time insulting someone, but not ONCE do you mention anything about “the game” that you know so much more about than everyone else. Just your usual “anti-Arteta and anyone who likes him” rants.

          4. It’s so interesting, albeit not surprising Admin, that I have never seen you admonish Angus for his seemingly constant badgering of those who aren’t on the Arteta bandwagon, which oftentimes includes ignorant remarks unrelated to the game in question

      2. @Reggie
        BHA we’re well drilled and disciplined. We were all over the place like headless chickens. As opposed to in the Spurs match, our forwards were allergic to tracking back to help shore up the midfield. But what we really lack, is a tall, strong and agile target man.

        1. I just dont like the tactics or lack of that we play. We are not getting anything out of our players, in fact they are being stifled.

          1. Reggie you make these comments constantly but they make no sense. I watched the game today vs the game vs Spurs. You don’t seem to remotely understand why we drew today. You certainly do not understand tactics or your comment would be very different after an obviously poor performance, You don’t know why we were bad today. You don’t. Just feel happy you’re vindicated in your personal opinion of hating Arteta, carry on.

          2. Fun fact Reggie I moved further up the Sky fantasy standings today as a result of captaining Jiminez (transferred in) over Auba (still in, gutted would of pushed me way over if he scored 2.) Just outside top 1000 (cant remember but it’s less than 1500) from how many people? Tell me I am delusional again. Got Kane (transferred in too this week) tomorrow much as I hate too lets see what happens, captain him tomorrow.

        2. Headless chicken that conceded no goals and 2 shot on target (we had the same) all game? Poor in possession but not headless. Shut up. Disjointed in possession, quality in defence. Largely same people that did both.

          1. And Angus, you go too far and talk absolutely BS. Tell me where i have stated i hate Arteta, that is a complete lie. Stop telling people their opinion is wrong and yours is right, ITS NOT ITS OPINION IT ISN’T RIGHT OR WRONG. Thinking Arteta isn’t doing as good a job as he is for my club is not hate, it is my opinion and i would love him to prove me wrong because then Arsenal would then be actually achieving something. I dont think he is doing the best job for this club, that isnt a crime. Butt out! and so can anybody else that has a problem with me wanting the best for Arsenal, when we aren’t getting it. And yes i do know tactics and i do have an opinion on our tactics and we aren’t doing as well as we could because of. Grow up, stop being so belligerent and start actually having you own opinion without slagging the individual off, not just me. There are too many who forget about opinion and call people for having one.

    1. Circumstance happy and the weather existed but not anything but a minor excuse. TBF good teams will lose/draw at Brighton rest of the season but not all.

  16. Gabriel lost another tooth – home and away against Brighton.. bet he had no trouble locating it though 😄

  17. No style today, little movement and no creativity, intimidation or intensity. The credit is that they stayed focused for 90min, and on bad days that means a point won.

    1. Against a team that on paper could punish our style, the other side of that is if we were playing our game properly we should destroy them for most the same reasons but higher quality.

  18. With the utmost respect to Brighton who are a very well organised side ,the very heavy conditions suited their giants rather than our ball playing lightweights.Auba and Odegaard were rightly substituted but the most disappointing aspect of our display was our failure to win our share of 50/50 balls.We lost most of the individual duels on the day I’m afraid but another clean sheet is a positive to take from the match.

    1. Agree. Defensively we barely gave a sniff to the possession dominant Brighton (a lot of wide shots.) Same time defence was at least partly responsible for our lack of possession when in possession. 0-0 was fair to me though. They created nothing.

  19. Should have stolen 3 points with a simple pass from Smith Rowe to Pepe for 1-0 late in the game. Arsenal are not yet a team that fights for each other.

    Everyone was poor from range, forgetting the simple idea that in wet conditions, it is important to force the keeper to make a save. Partey is prone to error, and lacks judgement that on wet day you force the save.

    This team has no leader when Xhaka is off… there is no enforcer, no toughness, no character.

    Auba is a slower version of himself, and less potent too, and hardly an example, unable to maximize his worth.

    How many millions were spent? Amazing! If only Wenger had been provided these funds.

    1. Winger is no longer coach. Support arteta to give us a top 4 place which is possible. Fancy play or not, we got a useful away point.

    2. Wenger not here anymore. Plus, he also had funds at the end. Bought oxlade chamberlain, chambers, alexis Sanchez, ozil, laca, auba. Let some of them see the end of their contract and thus loose money. We had funds. Simply some other managers, in the 2010’s (klopp, Conte or pochettino) made better choices

  20. We were lost in the front, expected Ode sub with Pepe sooner.

    We are lucky with this point.

    Ramsdale and Lokonga were amazing. Also, our back 4

    1. Disagree we were not lucky, Brighton dominated but created little. 0-0 was fair imo on balance of actual play or 1-1. Not good enough for us though.

      1. Defence shutting them down is part of the team and also the part of the team that was most guilty of panicking in possession.

  21. Deserved draw. Disappointing Brighton rarely threatened our fantastic defence but that just makes our lack of possession and attacking that much worse. Disappointing.

  22. Ramsdale Gabriel and smith Rowe we’re all decent … but others were lackluster … but the problem is moving The ball quickly from back to front and the lack of an attacking threat … aubemayang can’t start … just awful innevery department … got out of jail in this game .. move on … but nothing tells me arteta is the man to do it

  23. Nice away point in difficult conditions. Thought the pace of Marty might have been a good weapon today, but dont know about his availability or match fitness. On another day any side would have won with ours being glaring misses to theirs plenty of chances. On another day ESR would have made the pass, but anyway he played well so cant fault him. Hard game overall so well earned point. Hope MA goes into the break and tries to perfect a strategy for the midfield. Without Xhaka, its too lightweight. Maybe a 4 3 3 would help? Or maybe giving AMN chance in place of Sambi? Also all our midfielders should learn shooting from Mo Elneny.

  24. A littleot of fluff and nonsense up above. Nobody wants to break the positivity. But why not just say it. Potter is a better manager than Arteta. He had similar injury concerns as Arteta and was still able to organise his team better around the players he had available, as well as play in those conditions. Arsenal fans just want to make excuses. Obviously our football was ugly but this is Arteta ball. Fail safe. Performances such as the first half against the Spuds will only happen when the stars align.

    1. The resources that Potter has compared to Arteta is astoundingly meagre. Arteta is not getting anything extra from his resources, Potter is giving a masterclass of using what you have and getting his ideas onto the field and working. The guy is vastly underrated and improves what he has by great coaching and serious tactics that work.

    2. Joe. S, no Bissouma and no Welbeck for starters.
      What has Potter done with his Ben White £50 million; is it still in the bank?

  25. Potter doesn’t micromanage his players or over complicate his tactics.

    He plays to the strengths of the players at his disposal, rather than a square peg in round hole approach Arteta favors.

    Imagine if Pitter had £150 million to spend in Summer window?

    Would like to sure what he could accomplish with financial backing. Wouldn’t be surprised to see him move clubs in a year or so.

    Everton, Aston Villa, even spuds will be looking into his services.

  26. A point gained, we need to at least gain 7 points in the next 3 matches, if we are serious about top 4-6.
    Ideally, a good Arsenal team should be able to win against Palace and Villa home, and drawing against the foxes away.

    I think Sambi needs time (coaching) and Niles had the right to ask to leave if Arteta rates him even less than Sambi. Xhaka gets to my nerves occasionally but his off-the-ball movement both in attack and defence, his vision or passing choices are better than the others so far.

  27. Fans were celebrating Xhaka’s injury last week, even after that wonderful performance against Tottenham.

    1. Probably because that wonderful performance was really just the entire team dominating for a period and you are grasping at straws if you think Xhaka did better than maybe 8 or 9 other Arsenal players on that day, so what exactly makes you think he would have done better on a day when very few played well and the conditions outright didn’t suit him at all??

      1. Xhaka started two of the goals we scored against Tottenham, but when you are Xhaka it counts for nothing. There is what we call team balance in football, that is why a Xhaka and Partey midfield will always function better than a Partey and Lokonga midfield. Xhaka and Lokonga is even a better pairing than Lonkonga and Partey.

  28. “Started” – one was a pass any mid would have made and the other was literally him getting away with both a miscontrol by Hojbjerg and a foul on Hojbjerg. Imagine praising him for bad play just because the end result was good 3 passes down the line.

    How come we got more points last season when Xhaka was either not playing or playing LB if he’s so vital to team balance in the middle? (Which has continued into this season)

    I don’t think Lakonga has played enough with anyone to determine his ability to be in one partnership over another. I mean we’ve seen him with Xhaka twice and they were both bad games. He’s played with AMN once in a win but not great game. Now he’s played with Partey once in a not great game but actually played better than Partey.

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