Whatever slim hope Arsenal had of ending a 19-year wait to be crowned Premier League champions was pretty much extinguished this afternoon.
An inspired Brighton ran out 3-0 winners over Mikel Arteta’s men subsequently leaving them four points behind leaders Manchester City who are now one win away from successfully defending their crown.
“Arsenal just look like they have run out of steam, physically and mentally. But we cannot be too hard on Arsenal. It has been a very good season. They have just come up short,” Roy Keane told Sky Sports.
Following a goalless opening half Julio Enciso, Deniz Undav and Pervis Estupiñán all got on the scoresheet. The Gunners now face Nottingham Forest (away) and Wolves (home) to wrap up this season.
As for the Seagulls, third place is mathematically attainable but their focus is now on ensuring they’ll be playing European football next season. An experience the club has never enjoyed before.
Here’s how the players rated at the Emirates Stadium:
Arsenal
Aaron Ramsdale – 5 – Before conceding Brighton’s second you can make the argument he was unfortunate not to keep a clean sheet.
Kieran Tierney – 4 – Only his sixth Premier League start this season (and second in the calendar year). This was another opportunity to showcase why he should be featuring regularly from kick-off.
Gabriel – 4 – AWOL in the build-up to Brighton’s second. Undav unmarked in the centre-forward position simply lofted the ball over Ramsdale.
Jakub Kiwior – 5 – Felt he was fouled in the build-up to Brighton’s opener, but on second viewing could have stayed on his feet and dealt with the danger.
Ben White – 4 – Struggled to cope with Mitoma.
Granit Xhaka – 5 – An uncharacteristic performance by this season’s standards. Xhaka was immense at Newcastle last weekend but struggled against Brighton’s robust midfielders.
Jorginho – 5 – In the Gunners‘ starting lineup due to his innate ability to retain and recycle possession, however, the Italian was overwhelmed and didn’t last beyond the hour.
Martin Ødegaard – 6 – Busy as usual. Ødegaard was once again the centre of everything positive Arsenal did going forward.
Gabriel Martinelli – 4 – Fortunate not to go into Andy Madley’s book following an erratic challenge on Mitoma though his game came to an end before the 20-minute mark.
Gabriel Jesus – 4.5 – Another game in which Jesus was there but felt well off the pace.
Bukayo Saka – 5 – A game of two halves from the Arsenal forward, enjoyed his battle with Estupiñán and regularly found himself in Brighton’s final third, but after the break he was seldom involved.
Substitutes:
Leandro Trossard (for Martinelli 20) – 5 – Struck the woodwork moments after coming on. Ended up playing a role in Undav’s effort to double Brighton’s lead four minutes from time.
Thomas Partey (for Xhaka 60) – 4 – Booked late on. He’s been a shadow of his early season form these last few weeks.
Reiss Nelson (for Jorginho 60) – 5 – Three minutes after coming on Nelson came really close to equalising.
Emile Smith Rowe (for Ødegaard 77) – N/A – A late sub.
Eddie Nketiah (for Jesus 77) – N/A – A late sub.
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Brighton
Jason Steele – 7 – Ran the risk with some careless passing. “Steele has that casual look about him chewing gum … there is composure and then there is a little bit of complacency,” Gary Neville opined on Sky Sports commentary.
Pervis Estupiñán – 8.5 – Picked up a fourth Premier League yellow card of the season and first since last October against Manchester City. He followed that up by scoring his first goal and registering a sixth assist.
Lewis Dunk – 7 – Brighton’s leader at the back didn’t put a foot wrong.
Levi Colwill – 7.5 – Replaced the injured Adam Webster to make his 10th league appearance in Brighton’s starting lineup this season. It was a successful return with Colwill regularly in possession and never looking out of place.
Pascal Groß – 7 – Today’s assist was number seven, no Brighton player has more in the Premier League.
Billy Gilmour – 5 – A modest outing for the ex-Chelsea man.
Moisés Caicedo – 8 – His crunching tackle on Martinelli on another day would have seen him enter the referee’s notebook. He remained imposing throughout and it wouldn’t be surprising if he left for a Champions League club this summer.
Kaoru Mitoma – 8 – There are very few exciting Premier League wingers. Mitoma’s brilliance was frequently displayed in today’s showdown.
Alexis Mac Allister – 7 – No one epitomises the heart of De Zerbi’s side better than Mac Allister who once again left everything on the field.
Julio Enciso – 8.5 – There’s no question Enciso is one for the future. The 19-year-old, though, wasn’t overwhelmed by today’s occasion and proved to be a thorn in Arsenal’s side. Brighton’s opening goal was a reward for his perseverance.
Evan Ferguson – 7 – You can see why teams are sniffing around the young Irish marksman. A moment in the opening half saw Ferguson turn a Levi Colwill clearance upfield into a goalscoring opportunity.
Substitutes:
Danny Welbeck (for Gilmour 60) – N/A – A late sub.
Facundo Buonanotte (for Ferguson 77) – N/A – A late sub.
Deniz Undav (for Enciso 82) – 6 – His strange goal surely ended Arsenal’s title dream.