Arsenal’s title challenge hangs in the balance after Brighton took points off Mikel Arteta’s side for the second time this season.
On a freezing cold night at the AMEX, Ethan Nwaneri gave the Gunners the lead but the depleted visitors looked tired after the break and couldn’t hold on as Joao Pedro tucked home a penalty, awarded against William Saliba for an unfortunate clash of heads with the Brazilian striker.
There was plenty of time for both sides to find a winner but neither had the quality in the final third as the game descended into a series of niggly fouls.
“I’m disappointed because we want to win the game, and we started with some good actions and a really good goal,” Arteta told Sky Sports.
“We knew it was going to be competitive and challenging. But we did compete, and it wasn’t our best day.
“We’re playing every three days as well, and today we lost too many simple things. Doing the simple things, we have to do them right, and today wasn’t to those standards.”
The manager was also incensed by referee Anthony Taylor’s decision to award the Seagulls a penalty for little more than a clash of heads.
“We’re also very disappointed with the penalty and the way it was given,” reacted the Spaniard.
“I’ve never seen that in my life, and Saliba touches the ball so it’s never a penalty for me.”
He added: “We wanted to win and we weren’t able to do that. We’re very disappointed with the [penalty] decision. Other than that, we’ll try to improve and prepare for our next game.”
Arsenal turn their attention to the Carabao Cup on Tuesday evening when Newcastle United visit the Emirates. It’s the first of five home games in a row across four competitions that will go a long way to defining the Gunners’ season.
Objectively, I don’t think MA can win us a league or a major trophy. We need someone that goes for it, and Arteta is far too risk adverse, both with on the field tactics and transfers. Today we stepped off the gas as SOON as we scored and basically tried to play down the clock instead of trying to push for more goals. Our creativity is abysmal and you just can’t win trophies on set pieces alone.
Glad you’re not running the team.
So we play brilliant football and we look like a championship winning club to you? I don’t understand the weird faith in MA. He’s come in and dug us out of a ditch, yes, but is it really that unfair to suggest he’s just not at the top top level yet?
I wouldn’t go as far as saying we need another manager but everything else he said was absolutely right. Every single pundit on planet Earth is saying it.
Ah yes, the pundits, my go-to source for rigorous thinking and unbiased analysis. LOL!
Come back when Arteta has left this club then!
“You just can’t win trophies on set pieces alone.”
Really?
Are Arsenal trying to win trophies on set pieces alone?
Today’s result is frustrating, I know, but saying that about a team that scored 91 goals last season and came up short makes no sense at all.
I’m implying we’re over reliant on certain tactics. MA leans heavily on getting goals from set pieces and on our defense not conceding goals and after that there is no plan B. Are you denying that? It’s not just this game, these a reccuring problems with this team that still haven’t been fixed. Stubbornness will cost us trophies.
He is saying that about a team that will soon be 11 points behind the top runner.
He has already won a major trophy.
For his first job, he’s not doing bad considering he’s competing with the arguably the best ever PL team(city *vomit*) and a team assembled by Klopp, an exceptional manager who just ran out of fucks trying to compete with the corrupt shenanigans of our northern rivals.
We don’t have endless money to spunk(Chelsea some how do) but a striker in the last 3 windows would have been great instead of LBs and yes we could be a bit more positive going forward.
The past 2 seasons we were scoring goals for fun. We’ve had so many injuries this season. A freak amount. Maybe not having backups for odegaard and Saka is an issue. Putting too much faith in trossard and martinelli is a mistake. But otherwise the past 2 seasons have been glorious. Came up short to a club that cheated to build its team and won 4 in a row. Arteta is an excellent manager.
An excellent manager? His football is dross and hasn’t been to a single final since his first months in charge! I’ve noticed about this site any criticism on Arteta is like some form of taboo! You’d think he has won multiple trophies and took us from relegation to champions! Any wonder this club wins nothing because your more Arteta fans than Arsenal fans! You will all soon wake up one day, and don’t worry you can follow Mr Arteta to his next club.
Where are these thumbs ups coming from? You’re living on another planet. Do you remember 2010 onwards and late wenger then emery. How lightweight we were, how painfully inevitable it was we wouldn’t be able to compete? Only 1 team can win the league each season. Did you think Klopp was a crap manager cos in 7 years he only claimed one title? What manager do you think we could get who would do better? Honestly? It would reset 5 years of progress. Its laughable reading your entitled nonsense.
If you’d started with Subjectively rather than Objectively you may not have got so many thumbs down.
Everyone has the subjective right to their opinion, but Objective facts (such as the FA Cup he’s already won) would indicate you’re mistaken.
I’m a bit astonished how short term you memory is. Didn’t we put 5 past palace and 3 past Brentford in the last few weeks? Arteta is playing with a depleted team, and yeah, he’s opted for more control and less end to end football this season. But we dominate, and when the attack clicks, it clicks. We’re second in the league! Last two seasons we got more points than our title winning seasons under Wenger. So please! Have some perspective and don’t wish for things that would send the club backwards. Look at Man U and be fucking thankful.
5 home games in two weeks, let’s hope for 5 wins!
I would sacrifice two of those to get us back up in the league.
We need a fit team. It’s killing us. It does also feel like we aren’t allowed to get a stodgy 3 point victory. We have to be flawless otherwise the opponents will score from nothing or the ref will dictate the game in the oppositions favour. It’s maddening.
Nwaneri has a muscle injury according to Mikel’s interview so I guess luck is not for today.
Also, this pattern of ‘once in a lifetime’ refereeing decisions against Arsenal is very similar to that phase of devastating tackles / injuries that plagued the latter Wenger years (which the refs encouraged). Again, maddening.
Let’s face it, luck is not on our side, but sometimes you have to take big risks. Today we were handed 16, the dealer (Liverpool) was showing an Ace. Unfortunately, tactically we decided to stay on the 16. When you are 6 points behind and your rival has a game in hand you have to gamble. To just sit and hope Liverpool will drop points is not the answer.
Not sure what else MA could have done today when you look at the injuries and illness going through the club.
A good manager would alter tactics, take extra risks with the formation, trow Saliba or Gabriel up front, do whatever you can to try to take more than 3 shots on target. He is getting the big £££, he should know.
And get beaten by Brighton five nil. No thanks. You should watch some Angeball, you’d enjoy it.
A good manager will play a back three of Gabriel, Saliba and Kiwior or any system that will ensure he does not play Partey at right back.
But we don’t play with a back three and haven’t for years. You’re talking about changing the entire system when the obvious and most unobtrusive thing to do is ‘change’ one player.
I’m not sure that’s true blogs, we’ve absolutely played a back 3 a few times last couple of seasons…flexibility in tactics to meet the challenges we’re facing with injuries is something every good manager should be able to do, no?
Interesting that we find excuses Everytime MA falls short but when players don’t perform we have to be “ruthless”
The manager is not running the team and the team is not running. Hold the ball, pass to the side or to the back.
I never thought an away draw to tough opposition with an injury and illness depleted squad could be the cause of so much whiney and entitled bleating from some “fans”, no wonder other teams supporters have so much fun at our expense, luckily those same “fans” have no say in how the club is run or we really would be up shit creek.
Should we put you in charge?! You could be Win the Dog’s chaperone.