Four Arsenal stars let Arteta down in Brighton loss as title hopes all but over

Arsenal V Brighton: Pictures

Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta underlined the importance of beating Brighton to stay in the Premier League title race, but he could only watch on dismay as his side fell to a massive 3-0 defeat at the Emirates to all but end their title hopes. Goals from Julio Enciso, Deniz Undav and Pervis Estupinan put the Gunners to the sword for a below-par display and it seems their hopes of catching Manchester City are dead in the water after they were well beaten by Roberto De Zerbi’s men. Express Sport looks at four players who let down Arteta in a disappointing all-round performance.

Ben White

Rarely does the converted right-back look so vulnerable, but the pace and dynamic running of Kaoru Mitoma can do that to you. The Japanese twisted and turned, just as he had all afternoon, and White didn’t seem to know if he was coming or going.

Brighton had three bites of the cherry in putting in the cross before Enciso scored and that just isn’t acceptable if you’re fighting for the title.

In fairness to White, he is not a natural right-back and has done extremely well playing in that position while Takehiro Tomiyasu was injured, so much so that Arteta kept him there. But in the absence of William Saliba, Arsenal could have done with their £50m centre-back in his natural position.

Gabriel Jesus

When Arsenal lost the Brazilian to a knee problem during the World Cup, many felt it would be the end of their title challenge. It wasn’t, largely thanks to Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and Eddie Nketiah. And the uncomfortable question for Arteta to answer ahead of next season is whether his side were actually better without Jesus

He scored four goals in three games at the start of April having returned to action, and it looked like Arsenal had their £45m man back for good. But since then, he has bagged only once in his last five matches and didn’t trouble Jason Steele in the Brighton goal too much at the Emirates.

His only effort of note was from a tight angle when the pass would have been the better option. Otherwise, it was a straightforward job for Adam Webster and Lewis Dunk to limit his influence on the game. Nketiah, who scored seven goals in the seven games Jesus was out for, may be wondering on the bench if he could have contributed more.

Jakub Kiwior

Toughness is a difficult trait to learn, it seems to come natural to leaders – whether it is mental or physical – and can be decisive in the vital moments. For Arteta, there must be some questions over whether Kiwior has that same steely resolve within himself to become a mainstay in the Arsenal backline.

For much of the game, he was bullied by the towering striker Evan Ferguson and found himself caught out on several occasions. And when Brighton scored, the Polish defender was on the floor writhing in apparent agony after an accidental collision with Enciso in the box. It wasn’t a foul though, and one can only question whether Saliba or Gabriel would have gone down in the same scenario.

Winning titles requires a monumental effort, and by falling to the floor, Kiwior took the easy way out instead of defending his goal with all of his might. It may be considered a harsh rebuke of the 20-year-old, but the Premier League is a physical competition – and those who aren’t up for the fight don’t usually survive long.

Jorginho

Arteta urged Arsenal to pay £12m to Chelsea in January to sign Jorginho for these types of games, games where possession is crucial and a composed head in the midfield is essential. Instead, the Italy international was far from his best and overran by Brighton’s midfield trio of Mac Allister, Caicedo and Billy Gilmour.

The 31-year-old put in a man of the match performance against Newcastle last time out and was excellent in spreading the play, organising his team-mates and controlling the ball. This display was almost the opposite – he was sloppy and only completed 25 of his 40 attempted passes in the game.

Gary Neville said during the match that Jorginho and Granit Xhaka been “outplayed and outrun” in the midfield by the likes of Mac Allister and Caicedo – and few could say he was wrong.

And Arteta may be regretting leaving Thomas Partey on the bench in this damaging defeat, which could ruin a whole season’s work in fighting for the title.

Source: Read Full Article