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Arsenal went down 3-0 to Brighton at the Emirates in the Premier League on Sunday (May 14), leaving holders Manchester City just one win shy of a fifth title n six years.
The Gunners suffered a second-half meltdown, as Julio Enciso, Denis Undav and Pervis Estupinan struck to give the Seagulls a resounding win. With City beating Everton earlier in the day, Arsenal had to win to remain hot on their coattails but struggled to break open the visitors in the opening stanza.
Brighton were the dominant force for much of the half. Mikel Arteta's side upped the ante in the final ten minutes, ut there was no separating the two sides at the break.
In the 51st minute, Brighton were finally rewarded for dominating possession when Enciso converted a cross from Estupinan with a header from barely five yards out. Arsenal needed to come back into the game but desperately lacked firepower up front.
With less than five minutes left, Undav doubled Brighton's lead by lofting a ball over the top of Aaron Ramsdale following a mistake at the back from Leandro Trossard. Estupinan then added insult to injury by latching onto the ball after Ramsdale had parried away Undav's shot, firing one into the back of the net.
Brighton are now up to sixth in the standings with 58 points from 34 games, while Arsenal are on second with 81, four behind leaders City, who could be crowned champions next weekend.
On that note, here are the player ratings for Arsenal:
Aaron Ramsdale - 6.5/10
The Arsenal custodian did well under pressure and made two saves but had no chance with either of Brighton's goals. In fact, he was competely stranded for the second one.
Ben White - 3/10
Kaoru Mitoma battered the pulp out of White on the left in their duels. Their match-up was completely lop-sided in favour of the Japanese, who skinned the Arsenal defender twice in the build-up to Brighton's first goal.
Jakub Kiwior - 6.5/10
He worked hard to keep Brighton at bay, but the visitors' quality eventually showed. Kiwior ended with two clearances, interceptions and tackles apiece.
Gabriel - 6.5/10
Gabriel was put under the cosh by Evan Ferguson and came out with mixed results. However, it not as bad as White.
Keiran Tierney - 6.5/10
The Scot didn't put a foot wrong but his overall impact, nonetheless, was still inadequate.
Martin Odegaard - 6/10
The Norwegian's shots were unusually wayward and his passes sloppy. It was certainly not his best outing.
Jorginho - 5/10
Jorginho struggled to exert control in midfield. He won five ground duels but lacked imagination on the ball.
Granit Xhaka - 7/10
The Swiss wizard was lively in the opening stanza. He created a decent chance for Leandro Trossard in the 31st minute. Minutes later, Xhaka saw an opportunity go amiss after failing to divert his header off Trossard's cross towards goal.
Bukayo Saka - 7/10
Arguably the brightest spark for Arsenal in attack, Saka was a menace with his probing runs and link-up plays. He also won 12 ground duels and made four tackles, a testament to his impact off the ball.
Gabriel Jesus - 5/10
The Brazilian failed to impose himself on the Brighton defence, mustering just one shot on target. He was isolated up front for most of the game and completed only seven passes.
Gabriel Martinelli - N/A
He started the game brightly and looked dangerous. However, his evening came to a premature end in the 20th minute when he sustained a knock following a challenge from Moises Caicedo.
Ratings of Arsenal substitutes against Brighton
Leandro Trossard (20' for Martinelli) - 6.5/10
He arrowed a shot over the bar in the first half and saw a chance he created squandered by Xhaka.
However, the former Brighton man was at fault for the visitors' second goal with a loose pass that deflected off Pascal Gross and fell to Undav, who lofted the ball into Gunners' net.
Thomas Partey (60' for Jorginho) - 6/10
He, too, struggled to keep up with Mitoma's pace in midfield. In one desperate attempt to stop the Brighton ace, Partey ended up earning himself a yellow for an ill-time challenge.
Reiss Nelson (60' for Xhaka) - 6.5/10
Nelson looked to make an instant impact after driving in from the left to reach the edge of the area and making a shot, but it flew narrowly wide off the post. He later won a corner, too.
Emile Smith Rowe (77' for Odegaard) - 5/10
He was almost non-existent.
Edward Nketiah (77' for Jesus) - 5/10
He sought to make a desperate attempt to pull a goal back for Arsenal in stoppage time but was impeded by Moises Caicedo.
