Joao Pedro’s “unusual” penalty secured Brighton a 1-1 draw at home to Arsenal, handing the Gunners another blow in the PREMIER League title race – and further initiative to Liverpool.
Arsenal came into the game missing Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz with illness, while the sickness bug spread to Martin Odegaard, who could only start the game on the bench.
However, Ethan Nwaneri stepped up in their absence, scoring an early opener on just his second PREMIER League start – though he was taken off at half-time for Gabriel Martinelli.
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A fantastic finish from 17-year-old Ethan Nwaneri opened the scoring to put Arsenal 1-0 up at Brighton
Arsenal could have doubled their lead before the break as Gabriel Jesus headed over a good chance from a corner, while Simon Adingra blasted over a promising opening to level at the other end.
Fabian Hurzeler brought on Georginio Rutter and Yankuba Minteh at the break and it seemed to do the trick, with Brighton having more about them up front.
It provoked the game’s big moment as sustained Brighton pressure led to William Saliba clashing heads with Pedro in the penalty box after the forward just beat him to a high ball.
Anthony Taylor pointed to the spot, leaving Mikel Arteta furious on the sidelines. VAR concurred with the decision as there was “sufficient contact for the penalty”, while Sky Sports’ Alan Smith called it “unusual” during co-commentary.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta, however, disagreed. “For me, it was a clear no penalty,” he told Sky Sports.
Pedro stroked home the penalty and Brighton went into the ascendency. They could have won it when Minteh’s cross nearly found another Seagulls substitute Kaoru Mitoma at the far post but the winger missed the tap-in by inches.
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Yankuba Minteh missed a HUGE opportunity for Brighton as he sliced the ball across the net, with Yasin Ayari and Kaoru Mitoma failing to connect
Arsenal only managed one Declan Rice half-chance from the edge of the box after Brighton’s leveller, plus two tame efforts from Thomas Partey and Leandro Trossard, raising more questions about their firepower in the January window.
Brighton stay in 10th but the result is damaging for Arsenal, leaving the Gunners five points behind Liverpool, who have two games in hand. The first is a home game with Manchester United, live on Sky Sports on Super Sunday.
HAVE YOUR SAY! Was it a penalty?
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Joao Pedro converts an unusual penalty call after both the Brighton forward and Arsenal’s William Saliba collided head-first in the box
Redknapp’s view on the penalty
Jamie Redknapp on Sky Sports:
“Saliba gets himself in a muddle. Then it’s just a reaction, to stick his head out to try and win the ball. It’s chaotic and it’s not what we would normally associate with Arsenal.
“Is it a penalty? Absolutely. You can see the contact.
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Jamie Redknapp and Steve Sidwell discuss Brighton’s penalty against Arsenal and are critical of the Gunners’ defensive pair Gabriel and Saliba, labelling their defending as ‘chaotic’
“I said before the game there were still going to be twists and turns, but if Arsenal keep performing like this, there won’t be. They were poor tonight. Second half they had one shot on target. Draws are costing them. That was a really poor night for them. A lack of quality, a lack of guile.
“I just felt, unless it was a set-piece, Arsenal weren’t good enough in the second half. Credit to Brighton.”
Arteta: We gave simple balls away
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Mikel Arteta was very disappointed with Brighton being awarded a penalty and claimed William Saliba touched the ball before making contact with Joao Pedro’s head
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta to Sky Sports:
“Disappointed because we wanted to win the game. We started the game with some good actions and a really good goal. We knew it was going to be competitive and challenging game, especially with the players we have lost, but we competed.
“It wasn’t our best day, especially in the second half. We gave so many simple balls away which didn’t allow us to dominate the game.
“We are disappointed as well with the way the penalty is given. Very disappointed.
“We have to do a lot of things much better. We are playing every three days. But in terms of the quality we deliver and the consistency and the simple things, they have to be right against a really good team. Today wasn’t to the standard required to win the game with margins.
On Ethan Nwaneri coming off: “It was a very good goal. Unfortunately I think we lost him as well. So that’s another one, but we carry on. It’s a muscular thing. We had to take him off.”
Hurzeler: Brighton should have won
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Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler admitted his side are still not as fit as he’d like them to be
Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler to Sky Sports:
“It should be more than a point. I’m standing here after the games and I feel like I have to repeat myself every time, which is disappointing.
“The big word for us is to be more consistent, to play how we want for 90 minutes. We came back but we were not clean enough in the final third. We had big chances.
“Against Arsenal, you have to use the momentum to win the game and we weren’t able to do it.”
Analysis: Nwaneri shines but Arsenal’s case for a new forward grows
Sky Sports’ Sam Blitz at the Amex Stadium:
After the first half at Brighton, it looked like Arsenal found the answer to their forward problems.
Bukayo Saka is out for a while, Martin Odegaard wasn’t fit to start but 17-year-old Ethan Nwaneri stepped up in the absence of both. His finish was Saka-esque and unfazed by the presence of England manager Thomas Tuchel in the stands, it looked like the start of something special.
Then it fell apart. Nwaneri came off injured, Arsenal lost their fluency up front. Gabriel Martinelli came on but for the second game in a row, the Brazilian ended up without a shot or chance created as a right winger.
“I think we lost him as well,” said Arteta of Nwaneri’s blow, with the teenager joining Saka and Raheem Sterling as right wingers on the treatment table.
Arsenal now need to fix this lack of fluency. They managed just nine shots – their second-lowest tally in a PREMIER League game this season where they’ve had 11 men. Their Expected Goals tally of 0.8 was their lowest in all competitions for 18 games.
This may be the result that tips Arsenal towards the transfer market…
Can Arsenal still win the title?
Sky Sports’ Jamie Redknapp:
“I said before the game there were still going to be twists and turns, but if Arsenal keep performing like this, there won’t be. They were poor tonight. Second half they had one shot on target. Draws are costing them. That was a really poor night for them. A lack of quality, a lack of guile.
“Arteta took off Nwaneri at half-time. I know he had been booked but he had scored, he was the outlet. I just felt, unless it was a set-piece, Arsenal weren’t good enough in the second half. Credit to Brighton.”
“Arsenal have got to go on Man City type of run to win the title. They’ve got to look at what Man City have done in these last couple of years, when they’ve hunted them down and chased them and made it so difficult, taking three points every time.
“But are Arsenal capable of doing it? They’ve got to play better than they are. That’s the fact. You can look at it on paper and say, ‘these are lovely fixtures’, but you’ve got to make it count.
“A couple of weeks ago at home to Everton, you’re thinking, ‘that is an absolute banker for them’.
“They haven’t been able to win games like that and that’s where they’ve got to find different ways, especially without Bukayo Saka.”
