Arsenal Muapay-ed the Price

ARSENAL MAUPAY-ED THE PRICE

BRIGHTON AND HOVE ALBION 2 ARSENAL 1

ARSENAL’S SEASON OF woe continued as a stoppage time goal from villain of the hour Neal Maupay, gave Brighton and Hove Albion a shock three points on Saturday.

Following on from the disastrous restart at Manchester City on Wednesday, where we not only lost three points but also three players, the last thing Mikel Arteta needed was another injury and another defeat. But when things are not going your way it never just rains, it pours.

The first half injury to goalkeeper Bernd Leno, undoubtedly our player of the season, was made even worse when Maupay, the player who had injured him with a needless challenge that went unpunished by dreadful referee Martin Atkinson, popped up with the 95^th minute winner.

Quite how we managed to lose this match was a mystery but perhaps goes a long way to explaining why we are down in tenth place in the table.

After looking comfortable for 70 minutes and 1-0 up through a rare moment of quality from Nicolas Pepe, the late capitulation left us all bemused and Arteta furious:

"I think we did a lot of things to win the games comfortably," he said after the match.

"But we haven't competed like you have to in the Premier League. To give the first goal away like we did and lose a lose a few duels afterwards, it's all our fault.

"I'm not concerned about our character, but how we compete in a Premier League match. It is 100 minutes in this case, every ball, every action.

"The moment you lose concentration the opponent is going to punish you, it's not the first time it's happened, and if you want ot win matches consistently at this level that's a must - it's non-negotiable.

"I think we competed for a large part of the game, but in crucial moments when you don't, you pay the price. It's my fault as I'm the one who has to make sure they do."

After the strange team selection on Wednesday evening, the Spaniard went back to basics this time.

Rob Holding came into the back four in place of the injured Pablo Mari and the suspended David Luiz, his first start since November, while Sead Kolasinac was preferred at left back to Kieran Tierney.

In midfield Dani Ceballos replaced Grant Xhaka, as he had at the Etihad on Wednesday, while Pepe was in for Eddie Nketiah.

There was a slight change of shape as well with Buyako Saka playing as the most advanced of the three midfielders and Alexandre Lacazette supported in wide areas by Pierre-Emrick Aubameyang and Pepe.

And for 70 minutes it worked reasonably well. Saka, our only bright spark in a desperate season, hit the bar early on while Lacazette missed two presentable first half chances.

The first, a header from a Saka left wing cross was bad enough but the second, a mis-kick inside the six-yard box, was truly awful. For a striker who arrived with such a great goal-scoring record and who scored 19 times last season, these were chances you would expect him to bury.

Indeed, Aubameyang almost certainly would have done so he been played in that central area which begs the question; why is continually wasted on the left?

The injury to Leno, who landed awkwardly following a needless challenge from Maupay, hyper-extending his right knee, was carried off on a stretcher pointing accusingly at the Brighton striker.

The Frenchman later apologised saying he did not intend to hurt the goalkeeper, but the fact remains it was challenge that he did not need to make. 

He knew what he was doing, and he purposely left his elbow in.

Referee Atkinson did not even deem it worthy of a free kick let alone a yellow card or worse, although perhaps VAR should have intervened to ensure the necessary punishment was administered.

The full extent of the injury will not be known for a few days, but the early signs are not good, an ACL tear and a year out being the worst-case scenario.

Emi Martinez came on and immediately saved from Arron Mooy but the disruption clearly affected the team and we were grateful to get to half time at 0-0.

We continued to create the better chances in the second half, with Brighton goalkeeper Mathew Ryan twice denying Aubameyang, although our top scorer did have the ball in the net on the hour after breaking clear from halfway.

However, VAR did get involved this time and ruled it out for offside. A tight call perhaps but the correct one.

It was only a temporary reprieve for Brighton as we did take the lead moments later with a goal of real quality.

Pepe, who been well shackled by Brighton left back Dan Burn, finally found some space, cut inside from the right before curling a magnificent left footed shot past Ryan from 20 yards.

I have been one of his biggest critics this season but there is no doubt he has this quality. It is just a shame that he seems unable to produce it more than just very occasionally.

Whether it was the shock of going in front, the first time we have ever led in a league match in the month of June, but we immediately stopped doing everything that had got us there.

We have not been successful at defending a lead away from home for many years now and this risky ploy would backfire spectacularly. 

Having defended the Seagulls set pieces well up until then we inevitably switched off and allowed them the softest of equalisers.

Ceballos did not do nearly enough to prevent the short corner routine ending in a low, drilled cross across the six-yard area and Holding’s attempted clearance hit the outstretched foot of Lewis Dunk to bobble over the line.

If ever a goal summed up a team’s inadequacies, it was this one.

Now was the time for Arteta to act. 

With potential match winners on the bench, such as Gabriel Martinelli and Mesut Ozil, there was the opportunity to really go and try to get all three points.

But instead the first change saw Nketiah replace Lacazette in a like-for-like swap, and it was not until the final three minutes that Arteta made all three remaining substitutions; Joe Willock, Reiss Nelson and Tierney replacing Ceballos, Pepe and Saka in a move more designed to see out the draw rather than look for the win.

In the end we could not even manage that.

Deep into stoppage time, in fact over a minute beyond the three signalled, it just had to be Maupay who scored, linking well with substitute Alex MacAllister to fire past Martinez.

The game ended in farce as Matteo Guendouzi twice lashed out at Maupay and then had to be held back by teammates as tempers threatened to boil over. It was just a shame he had not shown similar passion during the match.

There is no doubt that the club are in a mess. Arteta looks lost and while it is far too soon to be blaming him, his lack of managerial experience is beginning to show.

A complete overhaul of the playing staff is needed. Far too many of these players are not good enough to take the club back to the top four, let alone challenge for major honours.

The problem is the owners are unlikely to do that. They made their intentions clear back in December when they appointed a rookie head coach in Arteta knowing they would not have to give him the sort of funds they would for someone of the pedigree of an Ancelotti or a Tuchel.

With that in mind I think we all need to forget about European football next season. 

With tough fixtures to come against the likes of Wolves, Leicester City, Spurs and Liverpool, plus an FA Cup quarter final at Sheffield United, we just need to write this season off and hope for a miracle over the summer transfer window.

Things do not get any easier now either with a trip to another bogey ground this midweek. Southampton are in great form so I am expecting nothing more than another defeat but I will preview that game in more detail later in the week.