Arsenal played out a 1-1 draw on their trip to the Amex Stadium against Brighton this evening, delivering a significant blow to their title ambitions.
Title-chasing Arsenal started the match in fine form, causing Brighton all sorts of problems early on, with Gabriel Jesus’ tame shot being comfortably saved.
However, Ethan Nwaneri opened the scoring shortly afterwards, following a superb pass from Mikel Merino.
The teenager once again demonstrated why he is more than just hype. But Arsenal knew how dangerous Brighton could be, and the Seagulls began probing for an equaliser.
Simon Adingra came very close to scoring for Brighton, but he lost his balance at the crucial moment, allowing Arsenal to escape unscathed.
Merino had a chance to double Arsenal’s lead shortly after but headed wide, as the visitors pushed to take full control of the game.
Both teams made changes at halftime, with Nwaneri not reappearing for the second half, as he was replaced by Gabriel Martinelli.
The fresh substitutions gave both teams renewed energy, but it was Arsenal who cracked first. William Saliba conceded a penalty, which Joao Pedro confidently converted to level the match.
Brighton continued pressing for a winner, and their attacking intent unsettled Arsenal. Yankuba Minteh came agonisingly close to scoring, adding to the visitors’ frustrations.
As the Seagulls grew in confidence, Arsenal struggled to maintain their composure, frequently losing possession despite the introduction of Martin Odegaard.
Thomas Partey’s weak header from a late free-kick epitomised Arsenal’s disappointing night as they dropped two crucial points in the title race.
It might get to 15 – 20points
They’re on red out form
We are getting weaker (losing Saka, Odegaard jading out)
We’re simply not on Liverpool’s level this season
I said it before – the point gap is more likely to increase than decrease
How are we going to face in-form Newcastle on Tuesday now ?
Sad but true. Arsenal are not title challenger. We are lucky that our top 4 competitors are also struggling so our real possibility is top 4. We want to win the league by this type of clueless and naive performance. We dream a lot.
We’re not. Mikel will not even win the Mickey Mouse cup. No way this team beats Newcastle over two legs
Well let’s not go too far
It will be tough but wouldn’t say ‘ no way ‘
WE missed the opportunity in the summer we should have invested in a striker……Arteta made a very good transfert windows in 2021(Odegaard B.White…)2022 also was very good( cause GJ and Zienchenko gave us a lift…) 2023 was also incredible (with Havertz and Declan Rice)…..and he missed the final piece in the jigsaw last Summer
Haverts is a waste of money, good player but not worth his transfer fee and wages
This is a good result for a top 4 team. We are on course for CL finish.
Lets not kid ourselves with anything more. Its been quite evident since October we are a top 4 challenging team and not a champion material.
Maybe a new manager could turn this squad into winners like Slot has done.
Yh. We have to learn from Brighton. They sell their star players and somehow they manage to find even better players in penny. Then they change manager like changin season and still manage to keep the team stable and even stronger than before. So we should not fear changing manager or selling our star players as there are already better replacements. We just need to find them and invest wisely
We were awful but that was not a penalty
Player missed the ball completely and hit the opposing player; that’s a penalty based on the rules.
The rest depends on whether or not ref is lenient.
That’s not true. The ball came off the Brighton player first, then Saliba got a touch of the ball and then the clash of heads. Do you want me to send you a link to the replay shown on MOTD? It’s on the BBC website, check it yourself.
Non-existent midfield without Partey. Criminal to sub Nwaneri and leave Trosard to play 90mins. Arteta has done his best, we need a new coach to take us to that edge. Abysmal display in that 2nd half, nah nah nah this is not acceptable.
Criminal to move Partey. Our midfield was awful today. We need a strong midfield to win the ball early and start attacks. We we not pushed back we drove ourselves back. Arteta made the call to move Partey and it FAILED.
Now, that’s the main issue right there.
In the last game, Partey played his natural position we won convincingly. What is left to see?
Every single game Partey has started at right back instead of midfield, we’ve looked short of control and purpose in the midfield. The games we won, we struggled. Most have been draws and this game is just another one.
Again, I might add. Heard Ethan got Injured, but I chalk this draw down to MA’s poor management. We’ve had so many games to cement it as fact that Partey at right back is a waste of the man’s talents and actually makes us weaker in midfield. The Coach and some other fans who think Rice is Rodri seem to be the only ones who can’t see it. I’m slowly beginning to lose trust that Mikel will get us our first major trophy in awhile. You can’t make this same mistake this many times at this level. FFS play Skelly or any other available person with a shred of defensive nous at right back if Timber is not available and keep your best deep lying midfielder where he should be.
I agree with you. We need new brains on the bench. The problem is that the Arsenal community doesnt see that need coz we are not used to firing coaches. Maybe that explains why it’s been 21 years without a league title. As big as our club is just imagine
Head on the nail.
Kaps,
Terry Neill, George Graham, Bruce Rioch, Arsene Wenger and Unai Emery were all sacked.
Please learn the history of the club.
Whatever the case , the fact is that we are too patient with coaches. We wait until the coach has no more brains left.
Patience is a virtue, as Man Utd fans found out when Ferguson took 6 years to win the League there.
Herr Drier,
In fairness to Kaps, he didn’t say we don’t sack managers. And yes we have sacked 5. But look at the combined years, you’ll find we are a very patient club when it comes to our managers. Most of the time that is.
Arteta costing Arsenals… This is his team but still faltering. Bet my last penny that he will bring in a defender and goalkeeper this window
21 years. Liverpool were a bigger club in the 70s and 80s but went 30 years without winning the league. This ridiculous view that Arsenal is somehow entitled to win because we are a good club and just “should” is such nonsense. Nothing works like that and you get what your deserve.
I hate defending Arteta but he actually over-performed by finishing 2nd two years in a row because this group of players, talented though some of them are, simply aren’t as good as everyone on this forum seems to think. Maybe, and just maybe, we should all be happy and proud that we did end the last two seasons as runner-up when we aren’t really good enough.
Arsenal try to make reasoned decisions rather than reactionary ones that make no sense.
It was not criminal to substitute Nwaneri who had a knock. In addition, it is worth noting that though he scored a good goal Nwaneri’s play was inconsistent through much of the half.
Nanweri got injured, surely you can’t expect an 18 year old to play through the pain and possibly cause more damage? It’s not a World Cup final and he ain’t Ronaldo!
The over investment in defense in the last two season is not bearing any fruits and you can see the lack of quality players in offence is bringing this team down. it doesn’t also help that the team plays with a hand break and are always playing not to lose than winning. The team is one dimensional and most of the team have figured them out
You have summed it up very well Ibrahim.The lack of real quality up front is clearly evident in the absence of Saka and against a young athletic Brighton midfield, the lack of pace of Jorginho and Merino was shown up on numerous occasions.I thought Jesus was lively in the first half and Rice, in a more attacking role, ran well off the ball to create options for others.I can understand why Arteta felt obliged to use Partey to fill in for Timber, but to say we missed his controlling influence in midfield is a huge understatement.In essence we need to pull out all the stops to keep him at Arsenal I think Baleba would be an excellent recruit for next season as he would add a new dimension to our midfield in a box to box role.Sadly I think we can forget about overtaking Liverpool this season but perhaps a Cup win is still a possibility?There is a need to strengthen our squad in a number of areas but panic buys in January should be avoided and we should hear up to sell and buy in the summer window.
The investment in the defence was necessary as otherwise we would have been even weaker.
It can be argued reasonably that if funds were available we should have invested more in attack and creative options. However, there have been concerns that PS rules have been a limiting factor.
While I dont include Timber, do Calaforini, Kivior and Zinchenko make us any better in defence?
Timber was out for almost a season and that weakened our squad depth. Even then with the likes of Zinchenko we mounted a credible challenge. In the season before Zinchenko’s contributions were a significant factor in transforming Arsenal into real title contenders. Zinchenko has unfortunately suffered injuries and has not returned to his best level yet.
Kiwior is a useful rotational option. Calafiori is a good young defender who can play in different positions. He may need to improve on certain aspects of his game but it was necessary to bring in another option on the left. It should be remembered that he has also injury problems and is new to the team.
Do you mean no then David but wont admit it.
It’s simply unacceptable. Title race done. And I’ve never been closer to being done with Mikel. He’s not the one. I’ll give him one more season before I’d want him out. But this is simply unacceptable and the squad he’s created is not good enough. 800mill Arsenal have spent on his players and he’s got nothing to show for it.
The worst part is knowing that if Brighton equalized there was no chance we were to reply. This manager has been saved by Saka this season. No surprise because ESR saved his career just a few seasons before. Arteta is simply NOT progressing as a manager which is very disappointing.
Your last sentence is what most of us have been saying he couldn’t do.
Hear hear…i had said last season was our Leicester season but like his players, this novice has regressed even further.
He doesnt set up to win games but not to lose. Notice how poorly we start the 2nd half in all of our games this season? Why? Simply because he is a chook and wants to protect the game but ironically starting defensively leads to tge outcome he wanted to protect at the start.
Slot comes in, reuses old players…same squad mind you and wins the league . Our genius who micromanages to the nth degree ….look at our figging throw in routine…. needs to go.
And again comitting Wenger mistakes. We are not selling players who are dispensable when their stakes are high. Just look what was value of Jesus, zinko, martinelli, white one year back and whats their demand now. Now even we want to sell them, we are not going to get lot of money. Or may be we would again have to release fee to get off the wage bill. We never learn.
Arsenal lost today’s match due to a very poor bench. A situation where we have one of our best midfielder- playing as right back. Pathey is the best we have in tight space. If Arteta and the board do not see any reason to buy wide players in January windows it’s obvious then they are not ambitious.
How can we compete effectively in Epl, two cups games and UCl with our thin squad. Imo we just hand over Epl to Liverpool today.
I looked at our bench and it was full of defenders not one experience forward players on the bench. Sloppy midfield, and Odegard and Rice not in best of form, seem jlike they are jaded after Palace match. How on earth will this team not need the transfer window. We wait and see.
before Arteta reign Tierney was one of our best performers but he replaced him with Zinko, he indeed did quite well and helped us to top 4 position. But Arteta was not done he brought timber, calafiori as fullback. Despite having 5 proper fullbacks, skelly and Partey are playing that position frequently. It seems Arteta is obsessed with this position and he doesn’t have vision of other positions. Most surprising is we lost so many points early in last season when Partey played as right fullbacks and we still keep doing it and keep losing points. As thing stands next year we gonna invest 200 mil for 2 new fullback without selling any current one.
No, we lost because of a cheat of a ref/VAR decision, a squad suffering from illness and no forwards available, also an injury to Nwaneri.
GB,
If it makes you feel better, you keep believing that.🙄🤦♂️
I do, but if you don’t , then just stick with your own agenda 🤔
It’s not an agenda mate it’s factual
If Arsenal won the title no one could have an agenda could they ?
It’s the teams failings
GB,
Its not me who’s got the agenda. Your the one with the agenda, always blaming the referee.🙄🤦♂️
Bang on the money GB.
Saliba’s small mistake could increase the point gap between Liverpool and us tomorrow
If Arteta still manages Arsenal next season, he’d better replace Jorginho and Trossard with younger players
@Gai,
“Could increase point gap btw us and Liverpool?
There is no Could the point gap will increase btw us and Liverpool tomorrow. I don’t see how poor inconsistent ManU would stop Liverpool at Anfield tomorrow.
And it’s not about Saliba’s mistake it’s about we created so little to score more goals. Trossard to good for 90 minutes game, Rice &Jorginho not combertive and Odegard seem tired.
Anything could happen in tomorrow’s game at Anfield
Yes 3-0 4-0 5-0 or more.
GotAnIdea
Saliba made no mistake at all.
Neither do I think the referee made a mistake.
The referee made that call, VAR supported, PGMOL approved scam as usual.
Saliba made no mistake and the referee did what he did intentionally.
Ughhh! How could that be!?!?! That was frustrating from US and the BL**DY officials! 😫 I Can’t wrap my head around this, it’s a terrible evening all round. Got to put things right next game against Newcastle.
Yet another confirmation that we will not win the league. No need to delude ourselves. Bang average players and very unbalanced team. Wasted cash and space on Calafiori and Merino. Failed experiment with Arteta.
The fans are the greatest losers in all of these. wasted emotions, time and money.
Yeah Saliba, Gabriel, Partey, Raya, Saka,Timber, Odegaard and Rice are bang average 🙄
And they still won’t applaud a bang average team for being second in the premier league after so much robberies.
Just to discredit Arteta.
Thrill,
I don’t know if your a wind-up merchant, or you actually believe the rubbish that you continually come out with regarding the referee’s.
Truly Embarrassing🙄🤦♂️
It is as clear as the nose on your face Arteta has/had hit his ceiling. His football is limited to how far we can go. Culminating in looking to win games like Stoke and Bolton of years gone by, with set pieces, as our staple diet. Our football is so limited and boring to watch. No dynamism. As soon as we get a set back, like injuries and suspension, he, everytime makes unnecessary changes, messes the whole team up and hasn’t got a clue what to do outside of Arteta ball. Brighton today were hit worse than us with injuries and looked poor but we trumped them. At least they had a bit of a go. We never bothered until added time. This was as poor a performance as I have seen and thats saying something. Every single player looked ponderous, with no exception. We tried to play for a 1-0 and it was never going to happen. Artetas summer buys, Merino and Calaforini are beginning to look bad buys, especially Merino. The guy hasn’t a clue. Forget the league this season and next, if Arteta is still here. It ain’t ever happening. He lacks vision.
Fact people don’t want to face, Zinchenko has been disrespected and we’d be better with him in the team. Mikel only cares about defending and large bodies for set pieces though. Zinny supercharged our passing game, moved the ball quickly, and even if he has defensive lapses, its not like any of the LBs brought in have been THAT much of a defensive upgrade anyways.
I didn’t see why Zinchenko can’t play in midfield alongside Rice. I’ve been calling for it all season. No one wants him at LB but he is a talented player we are just wasting. He’s better going forward than Rice, with better vision and passing but Rice is just about the best purely defensive midfielder in the country. But sure let’s just keep him on the bench forever and only use him at LB where we now have 5 options.
@Reggie
Once again my Gooner…🎯
Ahh. So hard to be right all the time. 3rd seadon in, told you all he wasnt the one. But even i am surprised at how much he has regressed. He has literally hit his ceiling and only one direction left BUT sadly 4th place has been the owners only ambition for the last 20 years so its another period of frustration for us loyal fans especially with arteta ball where the opposition is there for the taking but the man doesnt play to win but sets up for the team not to lose
I can remember when set pieces helped us win the League. 1989 ring any bells ? We didn’t moan then.
Can’t remember.
😁
I didn’t know what an Arsenal was back then.
I salute you my elder.
You know
Had it been another team scoring from set pieces:
complains would have come from this supposed fan base on why Arsenal can’t score from set pieces.
But should Arsenal go on to win the league there still would be some fans to claim winning the league by scoring from set pieces is appalling.
Arsenal has been infiltrated by nuisance-causing agents who pose as fans.
The second half was horrible
The first wasn’t bad in view of the changes made to try and manage illness and a very full schedule
Saliba made a serious error of judgment for the penalty and that signalled the turning point from just above average to rock bottom. It was a miracle that we didn’t lose
Spot on Sue.
@Sue P
Big difference was, when we scored, we tried to defend the one goal. When they equalised, they put us under pressure, trying to win. Thing is, we still don’t have an answer for the press.
We lost all sense of shape and rhythm NYG. I hadn’t noticed trying to defend the goal. I just thought Brighton came out for the second half in a better frame of mind than Arsenal. The half time talk must have been grittier
It’s okay though winning trophies are not everything?
Shame on any Gonner who watched this season and says we are a signing away from being the ‘ best there is ‘
Is that the best you can come up with Dan? It has absolutely nothing to do with what I posted
Saliba got ball first, vaR got it wrong by not over turning the call! No penalty.
Wonder why that is so?
Error of judgment? He went for the ball, I think he headed the ball marginally before the head clash and the penalty was a ridiculous decision, it was an accidental coming together and neither intended or reckless. Of course we tired quickly, Brighton had two more days rest than us and we were ravaged with illness in the lead up to the game.
GB
It looked like a head butt rather than a clash of heads to me, but I’m happy to stand corrected
GB,
That’s two pieces I’ve read from you, and all you did was blame others.
Try holding the manager and the team to account.
It’s always someone else’s fault according to some fans. Be honest with yourselves for once.🙄🤦♂️
Yes but your agenda is against the manager so it must be very discord yiu to blame anything or anyone else .
At least I hold the manager to account, which is a lot more than you do GB.
But lets go down the it’s the referee’s fault, its easier that way isn’t it.
The way the team is playing and the performances of some of the players have absolutely nothing to do with the manager or players themselves.
The referee’s fault, priceless.🤦♂️🙄
GB, bang on the money again.
Why I said title is done
Test is with your eyes
Simply not playing well enough to go on the run needed to make up lost ground
Not aimed at you.
The quote was
if I were still a paying customer, I’d be more vocal about my expectations, but now that I just watch free from afar, I’m not so fussed when we don’t achieve. and am satisfied that we are among England’s top sides.
There was also an article where we were one signing from being the ‘ best there is ‘
So not saying anything not true I’m afraid
A draw away at Brighton and a lot of negative comments, making it look like a loss. The team should be given a breather owing to injuries to key players and suspension of Timber.
Saliba was unfortunate that he conceded the penalty that they scored..
We would have been on top of the league now,if not for Liverpool that seems to be having an extra ordinary season thus far. The question is will Liverpool be able to sustain the momentum till end of the season?
It doesn’t matter if they do or don’t.
We are not playing well enough to take advantage
Negative??? No us fans are frustrated because we play teams that are there for the raking AND the tactics are to play to not lose instead of playing to win.
Don’t expect to get many balanced or considered comments here. Brighton are clearly a very good side. They have a system which works and an excellent recruitment strategy which has allowed them to keep rebuilding to this point. Although they get occasional lopsided results on their day they are a difficult side to play against for any team.
Liverpool are clearly having a great season and should be respected for what they have done to this point.
Arsenal have had big issues with injuries, fitness and form this season.
Unfortunately, the fact that these issues are unlikely to be fully resolved any time soon means the squad really needs strengthening to mount a strong enough challenge through the rest of the season.
Godwin Udenyi,
That word IF, a small word with very big meaning.
The word ‘IF’ doesn’t appear anywhere in that comment you referenced….
Look again Ben,
We would have been on top of the League now IF not for Liverpool.🙄🤦♂️
Please can somebody explain to me why arteta withdrew our best player at half time, I’ve seen arteta reluctantly withdraw
defensive players even when they are on yellow card, the chance of nwaneri receiving another is very slim and yet he was eager to sub him for that mediocre martinelli. He’s stupid obsession with that useless martinelli will undo whatever good work he has done. I think the referee was stupid to award such soft penalty too
Presumably because he had been booked and Arteta could not risk another 10 man battle against Brighton.While Nwaneri is highly promising he needs to learn when to take on players and when not to and to be more secure in possession.While I have a high for Brighton as a Club, in Veltman, they have a thug in their midst yet referees seem to ignore his nastiness and today Taylor was no different.Tactically, Arteta ought to have played Martinelli on the left where he could have exploited Veltman’s lack of pace, particularly as Trossard was not having one of his better days.Game set and match to Liverpool I’m afraid.
Tea, he was subbed off due to a muscle injury and apparently will be out for a while.
Err, because he had an injury?
@Sue the mistake by Saliba is not the problem today. Wr played very poorly and with the tactics and lack of creativity even if we buy the best striker in the world he will struggle to score. The team is now worse than last season. Not matter how much people might fight for Arteta performances and results are showing that for the investment and time given he has FAILED.
Simba
Saliba gave away the penalty which gave Brighton a much needed boost imo
The team that Arteta put out was constricted by those who weren’t available
That doesn’t entirely excuse a poor second half where they looked as though they were a mid table outfit
Actually, the absence of several players was a significant factor IMO.
Brighton away was never going to be straightforward with so many absences.
That was 60min on the clock. Whole half hour + to find a goal and it never looked like it was going to happen. The team is set up to only defend and when it’s time to attack we look unconvincing and sloppy
Agree RSH. They put a couple of headers – good chances – over the bar but that was symptomatic of the whole second half
The mistake was a problem but as you say, the way we went about the game was bigger.
The penalty decision was an issue today. Slightly mistimed by Saliba.
The lack of creativity was an issue but I disagree that tactics were a problem given the available players. I also, disagree that the team is worse than last season. You are wilfully ignoring the fact that we have so many players out. For the investment and time Arteta has built a strong and competitive team which would be the more sensible conclusion.
Certainly, this was a subpar game from Arsenal particularly in the second half. The game highlighted some of the limitations of the squad.
Rotating and yet performing at a high level was always going to a be a challenge particularly when some of our best players couldn’t start or were unavailable.
But David, it showed the limitations in Arteta. But OH David we can’t say that can we. But it is true.
Answer this David. 2.2 points average with Partey in midfield. 1.3 point and less after today, average with Partey RB. Now Arteta must do statistics and even if he doesn’t. It clearly doesn’t work, why does he persist with somethingthat clearlydoesn’twork? Surely he must be more clever than that?
You need to ask reasonable questions and consider whole context.
We have our two best right sided options out. Tomiyasu who has been one of our good rotational options has been out for months.
Other options at RB will come with their own set of risks which have to be considered.
But David yet again, you don’t answer the question properly. We are better with Partey in midfield than RB. Why move HIM? Stop defending the undefendable by avoiding the facts.
The facts are that we did not have a fit right back.
Worst football match I’ve ever watched in my LIFE! Rubbish tactics. Time-wasting from the 20th minute?! Since when did this become acceptable at Arsenal? Is this the Arsenal DNA Josh talked about when he rightly kicked out Emery for similar type of football? NO. Arteta needs to wake up and stop this nonsense mentality.
Embarrassing!!!!!
You are right.Time wasting after20 mins as they thought game was won .This is Arsenal all over.They got what they deserved.The trouble is we very rarely buy decent players .Most of them end up going on load and being sold for virtually nothing.We need to start to bring in more players through ourselves and giving them more of a chance rather than buying more rubbish
QD, good job you weren’t around in mid 70’s and early 80’s. The football was worse then than now.
Actually, i was around…we didnt do too badly, the double in 71, 2 FA cups, a League cup, a League title
True, George Grahams tactics were gross compared to today but he didnt spend 800 million to play negatively
U can bookmark this. These season will be the very last we are going to be “very close “to winning the league. Chelsea, Man city and of course Liverpool will be better than us next season.
At moment you wouldn’t even be able to say we are very close
Disappointing result to go along with a disappointing performance.
Contrary to a few posters, I thought Merino played well in the first half. Composed on the ball, and a couple of times skillfully beat opposing players including when setting up Nwaneri for his goal.
As for Nwaneri being subbed at halftime, he’s got a muscle injury which will keep him out for a while.
Regarding the penalty, now I think Anthony Taylor is the best ref in the PL but how on earth can he give a penalty for an accidental clash of heads. Absolute joke.
Rules. Saliba missed the ball and headed the striker. Clear foul. Head or foot, if you miss the ball and hit the player, a foul.
If you get the chance to watch it again you will see that Saliba DOES head the ball before his head touches the Brighton players head. So it was notua foul !
Yes he does but it was headed onto his head, not him heading it. He was all ready missing the ball before the Brighton player. The Brighton player headed it onto Saliba. Saliba was not getting the initial header. It was unusual and a rare situation, slightly unfortunate but Saliba was not in control.
If that is given as a penalty then why isn’t a penalty given when our players are wrestled to the ground 🤔 just wondering really if anyone knows or was it just an excuse for Taylor to give a penalty against us
It was headed towards him, and then he headed it. It was an accidental clash of heads, nothing more.
Like I said, you need to understand football rules before you have an opinion.
NOT a foul, would this have been given if this had happened to us? I wouldn’t have even questioned it, because I know it wouldn’t. However, Saliba’s head did make contact with the ball before hitting the Brighton players head
It’s called collision Reggie….. It happens often when defending corners and honestly this is the first of his kind am seeing, being given as a penalty. The ball is in the air so both players have the right to compete for it…..
As above. You need to understand the rules, to be correct.
Trying to find out what merino offers to our play
Guys Arsenal’s midfield without Partey will always cause problems to our team, it’s clearly weak. Since we had few options on the bench I think it would be more helpful playing Calafiori on the right back, then Skelly on the left than having a Midfield without Partey. And Nwaneri was the best option in today’s squad to stand in Saka’s position, a sub was insane.
So you would’ve kept Nwaneri on even though he was injured and will now be out for a while according to Mikel ?
This is not true. When fit Partey is clearly one of our best MFs. However, we have had good games when he was out of the team.
I do not get how this penalty was ever given after there was clear evidence of Salibas head contacting the ball before the Brightons players head. I thought VAR had all camera angles of the incident and that incompetent refereeing was supposed to be sorted out by VAR. However it appears there is incompetence all around
Are we actually blaming the refs for our performance? I have watched Arsenal for as long as I remember and this was almost a typical no backbone Wenger team. Anyone could see we would be lucky to get a draw and Brighton were better than us. Mikel continues to make personnel errors and not really adapting to the situation.
Jesus a flopping all over the field and Trossard non existent. I understand Nwaneri scored a great goal but Estupinian had the better of him from there on. Martinelli same bs as always had a chance to go pass a defender on a break and he slows down so a second defender can win the ball with Martinelli flopping on the ground.
This felt like these guys were playing for the old Arsenal and I really thought we were passed that and had better mentality. I hope someone in the club forces the issue with Mikel and gets a couple attacking options to take us forward. Liverppool looks like a title winning team and their front line has at least twice as many goal scorers that us. Their defense also has been excellent this year and frankly as long as we waited for a title I am afraid we have to wait a bit longer.
CFA Arsenal; you are right on the money with your analysis of tonight’s no show by some of the usual candidates.. Hard for some to swallow but that’s their problem.
Can I ask what you meant by that?
Agreeing with above that there are a number of players in our squad who are quite ordinary and that defending them because they wear an Arsenal shirt is irrelevant.
There is no version of Arteta’s teams, including the ones that came close to winning the league, that has played as good as Wenger’s teams, including his last season ( won 15 home games, but poor away, reached league cup final and Europa League Semi). While Arteta’s teams have been organised to get results in the last two seasons, in terms of ability to actually play, they are not close to Wenger’s teams. Wenger could field a whole team filled with kids and they would take teams like Brighton apart. People talk about current injuries but forget that it was a yearly issue Wenger had to deal with. I just hate this nonsense disrespect Wenger still gets on Arsenal platforms. If Wenger spent a quarter of what Emery and Arteta have spent, Arsenal wouldn’t have an attack that can barely create chances. They would certainly have won the league.
No, blame is on the ref for giving a diabolical penalty.
That doesn’t change our lack of creativity
But it changes the 3 points to 1.
What’s this got do with Wenger?
Seems this article partly represents the voices of those who simply can’t wait for Arsenal to drop points so they yell ‘Arteta Out’
Arsenal lost points to the match officials once again.
Many more to come.
Referee and associates with VAR all against Arsenal.
That would not have been given as a penalty against Burnley.
Bring in whoever you want:
Coach, player, dietician, sorcerer . . .
I can be sure Arsenal are the best team but will put my money on them not winning the league because when the organizers don’t want you to win – their proxies make sure you don’t.
Sack Arteta if you want.
But I can be sure if he goes to Barcelona or Real Madrid, they can play much worse but he will secure seven trophies before Arsenal gets three if at all they get one.
I agree with your first comment as some of these voices were calling for his head almost immediately he became manager.
The penalty decision was disappointing and unfortunate. These types of fouls are not usually given but we have been on the end of so-called “letter of the law” decisions which are not consistently given in the PL. I don’t think referees, VAR, etc. are all against Arsenal however. In my view that kind of thinking leads to unnecessary paranoia.
We have been hit more by injury and fitness issues this season which in my view is one of our biggest problems.
@David:
what exactly is the letter of the law?
Saliba’s head touched the ball before he made contact with the Brighton player.
Does that pass for a foul or malicious play any other part of the pitch or against any trophy chasing club . . .
but in the penalty area against Arsenal!
Arsenal keeps getting robbed often.
And their fans keep applauding it.
Funny and annoying.
I don’t think one can quibble too much with that decision. Even if he got to the ball first the referee could still deem it an infringement. It is unusual for these types of situations to result in a penalty though.
The referee could deem anything an infringement whether or not it is.
Such is the power of the referee.
And that is mostly used against arsenal.
See something . . .
That would never be given against a reasonable team chasing something.
And as such
I think Arsenal is a small team.
Based on refereeing.
What a load of absolute claptrap.🙄🤦♂️
Aren’t you tired of this narrative almost every season?
Why can’t we set up a team that plays convincing football, making it difficult for the “organizers” (or whatever you called them) to deny us what is ours?
From your own point of view, is that performance good enough to mount a title challenge anywhere?
Some are tired of people who just want to complain and whinge every time we have a setback.
The performance itself was not great but in a one off game it could have been good enough to pick up all three points.
That performance is far from being a one-off, if you’ll be sincere with yourself.
It has been our story for the best part of this season. And you know what? It’s not as if we can’t play better or don’t have the players to. In my opinion it’s just the way the coach sets them up to play.
Twinlights,
Totally agree with your points.👍
Maybe I am to understand you mean
if we are not playing wonderfully
the referee can decide we lose
just cos he wants us to.
And yeah, if you would be sincere with yourself, the match officiating bias is far from being a one-off.
I’ve seen lots of terrible teams play.
That is not the referees business whether or not a team is performing to his or it’s fans’ aesthetic pleasure.
Just officiate the game fairly.
The referee is a kind of robot that shouldn’t be nursing feelings.
He is neither a fan nor a coach.
But he had feelings for the opposition.
I won’t ever be tried of the narrative so long as the officials aren’t tired of being what they are.
Pls wait a minute.
Do you in any way think playing “convincingly” guarantees “winning” as yours?
OH here we go, Thrill and its the referee’s fault usual mantra. 🤦♂️🙄
Derek:
Yeah!
😉
Mr regards to your friends when you hang out with them.
👍🏻
What about decisions that go our way ?
David, don’t you think that it is often Arteta tactics that gets us into these “controversial” situations where 50/50 decisions tend to not go our way. Wouldn’t it be better if once get an advantage we continue to keep up the momentum and maintain the pressure on the opposition rather than have to run back like headless chickens. It’s called coaching and something is not working.
Please explain how Arteta’s tactics results in Saliba mistiming a header and then a penalty.
It would be much more useful to provide some analysis rather than just insulting the team by calling them “headless chickens”.
Your arguments as usual are very childish and severely lacking in logic sometimes I wonder if you are a young person who have just started following football.
Do you know that every goal conceded in the history of football comes from a player fault right? Do you know when a team lose its all players fault?
Does any manager play on the pitch? If we are to follow your logic no manager should be accountable or fired ever due to bad results because what is their fault when they are just sitting on the bench? Or pacing on the touch line?
It would be useful if you could provide some reasonable insights rather than just an ad hominem attack.
Absolutely right on that front
But mate do you not accept his tactics do result in us not making enough chances which is not a one off ?
Even if his tactics are rubbish.
That does gratify the officials being worse than useless.
Does that gratify the match officials being rubbish.
It’s about maintaining pressure on the opposition by going for it and not Tinky tonking around simply trying to retain the ball. We almost always seem to lose control of a game when faced with this type of situation. You can’t simply blame the players for this and if you do you also have to blame the captain who selected them and put the on the field. Saliba and Gabrielle M are wonderful players but on the day they were surrounded by a bunch of has beens who kept giving the ball away too easily.
Morning all
Isn’t football a funny game.
One day you wake up feeling full of beans.
The next comes along and you wake up frustrated, and angry
2 points dropped last night
1st half we got our noses in front and controlled
2nd half and yes looking back on it , the ref got it right. Never seen one given for that before but he called right.
As for the players. Most if not all were way below par and you cannot legislate for 80% imo playing badly
I have heard the call on party playing RB. I thought he done reasonably well as a make shift RB
Problem i though was his distribution was so poor. If he was in the center of the park and passed around like that he would have caused us no ends of Problems.
I thought MA got it wrong last night and before any beats the drum of he is an MA lover. I am not, I am an arsenal lover.
He got it wrong but then how can you legislate that 70% of the team were so poor
front 3 were none existent
Midfield went missing. Worse I have seen rice play
Bar the center back (and 1 gave the pen away) and goal keeper the rest were pretty dross 2nd half.
On to the next game . Pray that manure have something in the tank to take a point or 3 from pool today. Can’t see it happening
Onwards and upwards
At least Allanball08 you have provided a fair and reasonable analysis
It’s a real shame that what was on offer last night was below expectations or what was needed to give Liverpool a run for their money.
I would be interested in what you thought Arteta got wrong.
Some of the focus has been on the RB situation. Consider some of the suggested options: Calafiori, who is a LB; Saliba, who is one of our best CD ; Academy player.
None of these is a proven alternative or without risks, yet people are arguing as if there was a clearly better alternative.
We have several senior players out. The defence has been shuffled several times due to absences for various reasons. A lot of changes had to be made throughout the team for yesterday’s game due to various absences.
So what should he have done differently that would have guaranteed a better performance.
This to AlanBall08
David
MA at times is slow to react to situations when you can it building up in front of you
After there goal went in we still ambled along at the same pace
The left was redundant so changing it up maybe to give us some forward drive would have been. Start
Jesus and trossard switching . Both were poor
Moving party to mf but as I said before his passing was woeful
Saliba to LB
MA had limited options but we became to predictable 2nd half
Good managers don’t lose you games
Great managers go win you games
MA went from a good coach to manager to a good manager but not a great manager as yet.
Sometimes what what fail to see is that he has been in the job for 5 years. To some They say that is enough time to be a top manager but let’s not forget
Most trade you need years if not decades to be tops in your field
Doctor, 7 years to get qualified
Architect 7 years to get qualified
Nvq trades 3 to 5 years to get qualified
Like it or not MA is still learning his trade and he is getting more things right then wrong but to be great the wrongs need to be got right which great managers do.
Weather the fans or clubs give him the time to become great which imo he will one day, again for us or someone else is another story.
So that’s why he got it wrong imo.
He needed to change it up even though he was limited on options on the field or bench
This is really something when there are limited options yet there is a belief that the manager should have done more. IMO this is just scrabbling around looking for reasons to criticise because we couldn’t win the game.
This is a tough league and Brighton are no pushovers. We are playing every few days with a reduced squad, several players out and sickness amongst the available players. However great you are as a manager you need to have players available to make changes.
No one can guarantee a better performance David.
Califiori is a defender and a full back as well.
He knows all the tricks in the book as we’ve seen.
We had a young left back playing some great football, dropped to the bench to facilitate Califiori and, in my opinion, our best player (along with Saka) taken out his position of strength, weakening both our midfield and defence.
We’ve all witnessed Partey is not the answer at RB, so why weaken two areas of the pitch?
Ken
Stubbornness and ego to answer your question. Add to that starting 3 slow, non creative DMs in midfield
Arteta will not admit moving Partey weakens the midfield and therefore weakens the team. Instead he continues doubling down to prove he is not wrong.
The stats, eye test, results on the pitch show you how the team is weakened with Partey moved to RB.
Jesus back to his “typical” self; all over the pitch, falling on the grass, no goals or even having a controlling presence on the pitch.
Honest question; has Arteta reached his limit at Arsenal?
Style of play and tactics repeatedly look suspect, and looks out of ideas. His only answer seems to be more spending.
California is a LB, it doesn’t mean he would be good at RB.
We do not have many options at RB, Partey is a reasonable option and defensively was OK. We have options in central MF. Our bigger problem is to do with attacking creativity and striking.
As for your question it lacks sufficient context. In order to get us to this stage we have had to spend and going forward we will need to spend to remain competitive.
He’s the viable option we’ve got Ken. When we shift partey we’ve Rice to fill in who I believe is good enough to replace him….
Not too sure why the title reads disappointing. We deserved what we got. Playing badly, along with time wasting, backwards passing and not trying to score a second goal all prove we didn’t deserve the three points. Disappointing, more like warranted.
Poor second half, but as per usual in these type of games where the two sides can barely be separated, it’s shocking referring that costs us!
Saliba’s header was a pen, but Gordon’s nose almost getting taken off the day before in the box against Spurs, where Kula made no contact with the ball was no pen?
I have given up trying to understand the laws the game anymore. Clearly the refs are bias, they don’t know their own rules and good to see VAR doing it’s job yet again!
How many attackers do we have out unavailable? Got rid of all backup attackers only to panic buy Sterling.
6 left footed defenders out of 10, we know left footers are limited positionaly, so where’s is the balance and who assembled them?
It was obvious we had attacking subs.
WHOSE MAKING IS IT AND WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR MANAGING ALL THIS?
You can defend Arteta all you like but so far he has failed to bring the league to the Emirates. He has been supported adequately but he has bought a lot of poor players with that money. He has sent good players like Maitland Niles for free who could be useful as a utility player. We have failed to win the league not because we don’t have the players but because of poor tactics and player selection. How many games have we struggled and lost points because Partey is deployed as a right back and Havetz as a midfielder. Many indeed. Wenger used players like Bendtner and Eboue to good effect despite their limitations.
We have been playing boring and slow football this whole season. We drew yesterday because we were not creative enough.
No matter how .uch you sympathize with Arteta he needs to deliver. Watching Ipswich playing you will really admire their zeal to attack.
And what position is Ipswich. Over the past two seasons Arsenal stretched to win the league but they couldn’t. It’s not coincidence that Arsenal and Mancity are struggling for consistency. Arsenal stretched Mancity n now they are struggling this season so also Arsenal. Pep is lucky he won the league 5 in 6 so no pressure but Arteta is unlucky
@Ola we are not talking about position but the attitude and set up tp win a match. Arsenal obviously have better players and more resources but teams like Ipswich plays to win unlike us who want to delay a 1 goal with much of the game still to play and wastes time unnecessarily.
Arsenal do it again.
Liverpool drop two points away at Newcastle.
Arsenal drop two points away to Fulham and two points at home to Everton around the same time.
Arsenal drop two points away at Brighton.
Liverpool drop two points at home to Manchester United.
We’ve already had three opportunity’s to close the gap on Liverpool and have been found wanting every time.
Sad though it is to say my fellow Gunner’s, with us keep on missing these opportunity’s, we don’t deserve to win the League.
It appears our chances are in the Cups. Lets see how serious we really are about them shall we.
One thing I have noticed about folks on here is that we don’t get behind the team.
Majority of us on here moan abt these and that a lot even before a ball is kicked. We are doing better than most teams.
The midfield still needs a creative player to support Ode, two good quality wingers and a decent striker . but on here there seems to be a lot of coaches who thinks is rocket science.
Support the team no matter what. Everything takes times. Such is the irony of life.
Bme,
You say we need support for Odegaard, and two good quality wingers and a decent striker.
Something Arteta has ignored before the season started. It’s hardly news is it, what we want and need.
But don’t worry, I’m sure that Arteta has yet another phase or two to surprise us with. 😣🙄🤦♂️
😊 definitely his time at arsenal will be judged soon.
@Bme i feel your pain, the negativity is unrelenting
personally, the last 2 years have been the best of my Arsenal supporting lifetime in a decade, yes there are some bumps along the way but that is football, as an Arsenal fan our life is one more fortunate than most
troll onslaught on its way
We never call it quit until it’s over. The league is tough we the players needs the fans now the most. That’s the spirit.
That’s a lot of back up required after four years. What does that say about the recruiting up to now? In any case Liverpool’s draw gives us some hope. Or will that just be further punishment for us faithfuls who still refuse to let go of f the dream.
Sorry to say I am believer that it is not over until it is over and we still have 18 games go
Yes we missed a few opportunities to close the gap but the season is far from over for us in the league
If it’s in the cups, then I will take that on top as well
Chin up as there still a long, long, long way to go until we are out for it
Onwards and upwards
‘happy’ to say I am with you supporting Arsenal until the end
now put the feet up awaiting the inevitable troll onslaught
Seem a lot of people here will be happy to see us go back to mid table.
Alanball08,
Fare play to your optimism, but I think your in for a disappointing end in May regards the League Title.
In the Cups who knows.
I wouldn’t get too depressed yet about our team. Some guys are talking like we rubbish but we got a point against a good Brighton team. They havnt lost many this season. If we had a near full squad we would of got 3 points. Liverpool dropped points at home against a terrible utd team so it’s not over for the league with 20 games gone and only 6 points from top. I agree with some of you guys that arteta was a little negative in the game and tried to hold onto a 1 nil rather than go for it. Also he could of done a little better in bringing in another better quality forward into the squad sooner to cope with our injury situation better. Hopefully we’re sign a good one soon. Overall all though anyone thinking arteta should leave immediately I think is being harsh. His made our team a nightmare for other teams to play against. Our defensive players are great, midfielders are good too just need an extra spark in attack I think. Were very hard to beat and I never get the feeling before any game that we going to lose. Even with our injured team yesterday I knew we wouldn’t roll over. I remember when arsenal often did a few years back. Were also still in with a chance in every competition. Glad we got a spine just need a little more up top in the jan window and arteta can still come good this season il hold further judgement untill may
Hope to prove you wrong in a nice way
The double would be nice 🤩
Alanball08,
What double would that be, of an alcoholic kind perhaps?. 😉👍
Apologies Alanball08,
I meant alcohol kind. (My bad🤦♂️).
We need to soldier on.
United did us a favour by drawing with Liverpool
II know people are upset that we didn’t take advantage of this, but we are no worse off than last week.
Liverpool are beatable and will slip up again. We need to focus on winning and hope MA strengthens us in January
We’ve had three opportunity’s now to close the gap on Liverpool. We would be level on points with them had we taken them. Liverpool would still have had a game in hand though.
Liverpool may have a blip or two along the way, but I just can’t see us being able to take advantage to be honest.
Not with the pragmatic way we’re now playing. And as I said earlier, we’ve already had three opportunity’s, how many more will we get.
@DEREK. Arteta is an artist 🎨. He loves to DRAW. This clown (Arteta) has drawn more matches than Picasso has drawn pictures as a child. 2024 is the year of the TRUTH,,,, 2025 will be the year of the DEMISE of MIKEL ARTETA. This season is starting to be a TRAIN WRECK. Or should I say, ARSENAL is the SECOND COMING of the sinking of the TITANIC,,, quickly sinking
Arteta should have gone in the summer after we blew the league two years in a row, instead of binning him and trying something new the club stuck with him and gave him more money to splash on the likes of Merino and Calafiori, how exactly have they improved the team since their arrival?
Well the sale of hair gel has probably gone up in the club shop Dave🤣👍.