Brighton is close to qualifying for Europe, at the expense of Arsenal’s title hopes, after it climbed to a 3-0 victory at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.
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The defeat left Arsenal (81 points – second place) four points behind Manchester City, with the two-time champions remaining three matches away, to two for Arsenal. A home win over Chelsea next Sunday (11am ET) would see Manchester City clinch a treble of back-to-back titles – provided Arsenal remain athletically in the chase on Saturday.
Three more points put Brighton (58 points) in pole position to finish sixth and finish sixth in next season’s Europa League. The Seagulls are already a point above both Tottenham and Aston Villa, with two games in hand. Fifth-placed Liverpool lead by four points, having played one more game so far.
Watch the Arsenal vs Brighton match, the full match replay
Brighton were slower out of the starting gates on Sunday with just one shot in the first half hour of the game, before Roberto De Zerbi’s side found their footing and began to fall behind. The tide began to turn after 35 minutes, and indeed it was Brighton who broke the deadlock shortly after half-time.
For all the beautiful possession on display, it was a headed cross from six yards out, which ultimately did the trick for Brighton. Pervis Estupinan’s cross took a huge bounce to clear the defender near the post and find Julio Enciso, who sat on top six yards, for a simple header past Aaron Ramsdale.
The second goal came in the 87th minute, as Arsenal made extensive changes and pressed to equalise. The ill-fated giveaway turned out to be a snappy transfer moment for the Premier League’s preeminent transition team. In the end, Deniz Ondev lifted the ball over Ramsdale and scooted wide as it fell to the ground and bounced over the goal line.
Estupinan sent the crowd into a frenzy again in the 95th minute, when Ondaf parried his first shot, but the ball rebounded to the Ecuadorean international, who lifted it over a struggling Ramsdale for a more assured final title. Seagulls on European tour.
End-of-season meltdowns to become a theme for the Arsenal team
The Gunners took an eight-point lead April 1st, just six weeks ago, with only nine games left (one more game played in that time). Since then, Mikel Arteta’s side has gone to 2W-3D-2L. Last season, they were in the driver’s seat to fourth place and a return to the Champions League, before losing five of their last 10 matches, including the pivotal break away to rivals Tottenham.
No doubt progress has been made in terms of results this season, jumping from 69 points to 81 (with two games left to play). But the mentality of the young squad took another big blow as they watched eight months of hard work run down the drain for the second season in a row. spurs.
The stars of the show
Photo: FotMob.com
What then?
Arsenal will continue their pursuit of Manchester City next Saturday (12:30pm ET), when they visit the City Ground to take on Nottingham Forest. Brighton will be back in action again on Thursday (2:30pm ET), as they complete their postponed match away to Newcastle.
Arsenal returned to winning ways with wins over Chelsea and Newcastle last week, but not before Mikel Arteta’s side managed just three points from four matches without losing their grip on the title race. No other Premier League side has four players with double-digit goals this season, as Martin Odegaard (15), Gabriel Martinelli (15), Bucayo Saka (13) and Gabriel Jesus (10) lead the Premier League’s second-highest scorers. register.
Brighton may not have the numbers to match Arsenal’s firepower, but the Seagulls have every bit of the free-spirited bravado they’ve become synonymous with under Roberto De Zerbi and Graham Potter. However, it wasn’t quite the last time, as five relegation-fighting Everton put Brighton in their own patch in perhaps the most baffling result of the PL season.
OUT: Tariq Lamptey (knee), Sully March (groin), Jeremy Sarmiento (ankle), Adam Lallana (groin off season), Jacob Moder (knee), Joel Feltman (hamstring)
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