It’s been a while since Arsenal put in a “file and forget” performance but that is what they’ll need to do with today’s showing at Brighton. The Gunners, to a man, were well off their best. Brighton were energetic and more than a bit lucky. Combine those two and sometimes it can look like today’s 3-0 loss.
There’s a real risk of letting the scoreline over-influence the analysis of this match and to see bigger issues than are actually there. Arsenal had a bad day at the office. Brighton scored two
goals from long-range shots. A match that on most days is 0-0 or 1-0 at halftime was 2-0. And that’s that. Without two ridiculous goals against, Arsenal go in at half, adjust, and maybe things play out differently.
It looks and feels worse than it was because Brighton had so much energy and Arsenal made so many errors, many of them unforced. You could fairly say that the Seagulls’ pressing unsettled the Gunners. But the pressing wasn’t the reason for the scoreline. The point being that even granting Brighton were the better side, the thing that made them the better side wasn’t the thing that made the outcome.
The first half goals were tremendously taken shots, both of which David Raya probably should have done better from — today will probably end up his worst showing of the season. The announcers criticized Arsenal for standing off both shooters but I don’t think it was much of a mistake in either case. You typically let players shoot from out there because the shots are highly unlikely to find the back of the net. Unfortunately, Arsenal got the extremely short end of the stick in both instances.
In retrospect, Mikel Arteta looks to have gotten his lineup wrong. The Bruno Guimaraes-Declan Rice pairing isn’t the one to go with against a team that presses as high and hard as Brighton. You really need one of Myles Lewis-Skelly or Martin Zubimendi on the pitch. Arteta’s misstep was compounded by Bruno having an absolutely dreadful game. He misplaced several passes under very little pressure that short-circuited potential attacking moves and put the defense back under pressure. Bruno was also slow to react on an attacking move at 0-0 when he had a chance to do some damage after Riccardo Calafiori won a header.
Speaking of the Italian, he made a handful of similar mistakes to the Brazilian. On the break before Brighton’s second goal, his pass took Martin Ødegaard much, much wider than he needed to go, which ultimately led to the move breaking down. The ball fell somewhat kindly for Bukayo Saka, but his tumbling effort went straight at Bart Verbruggen. At 3-0 down, Calafiori had time and space around the corner and blasted the ball across the box, far too hard for anybody to get on the end of.
That was just the kind of match it was. If it could go wrong, it did. Brighton scored a third from a corner kick where David Raya was blocked off from coming to claim the ball much in the way we were told they wanted to eliminate from the game. You’re never going to get that call but at the same time, it’s exactly what everybody was so up in arms about last season.
Down the other end of the pitch, an Arsenal corner just kind of sat in a dangerous area before getting knocked to safety. Bukayo Saka was in behind but his first touch / the bounce of the ball made it awkward enough that a defender had time to get across for a block.
It was just that kind of day. Not to put too fine a point on it, but today against Everton, Ipswich had a man shown a second yellow for diving. Ferdi Kadioglu threw himself to the ground in the Arsenal box, a clear dive that was emphatically waved off by the referee, but wasn’t shown a second yellow. If it could go wrong (or at least not go Arsenal’s way), it did. Better to get all that out of the system at once.
Arsenal lacked the sharp passing and the rotational support from off-ball players to effectively deal with the press. That’s more on our guys (and perhaps the manager) than anything else. They didn’t do the right things. When that’s not working, the other option is to go long, but Kai Havertz really isn’t the guy you want leading the line to do that. Viktor Gyokeres is much more willing to run behind and chase balls into the alleys. Arsenal’s general lack of game-breaking pace across the front line hurt today more than usual, too. If you’ve got a guy that’s going to win the footrace, you can simply tell that guy to run, boot it over the top, and profit. You can see the thinking behind Havertz over Gyokeres. Having another combination passer and technician to drop deeper can help pass through the press. But the poor passing limited that option.
When Arsenal did manage to pass through the press and threaten to break away, Brighton fouled from behind. The referee decline to book both Max de Cuyper and Diego Gomez early (and Martin Ødegaard later in the first half) for intentional fouls to stop the play after the press broke.
The one on Bruno Guimaraes in the center circle was particularly egregious. Arsenal had possessed the ball for a while. Brighton were in their shape. The Gunners were patient, recycled the ball, and finally coaxed the Seagulls to step up to press in the middle third. Bruno and Ødegaard worked a quick 1-2 in the middle to slip beyond it, and the Brazilian was hacked down from behind to prevent Arsenal attacking a defense that had been pulled out of shape and beaten. No booking.
It’s a calculated risk that many clubs, Arsenal included, take. Brighton do it more than most. You usually come out ahead. That’s why you do it. But if the referee decides he’s not going to have intentional, tactical fouls from behind to stop the play and shows an early yellow card or two, you’ve got to find another way. Brighton did not have to find another way today.
It didn’t make a difference in the match, but Viktor Gyokeres had a solid showing. He put Kai Havertz in on goal but the German volleyed straight at Bart Verbruggen. The Swede had another nice piece of play that Ebere Eze wasn’t alert enough to capitalize on, too. As usual, Gyokeres had a couple instances of “he’s refereed differently than most other strikers” too. He pinned his defender, tried to spin towards goal, and was slung to the ground — precisely the type of play that everyone fawns over Brian Brobbey about. It must be frustrating for Big Vik.
Four away matches in a row was always going to be tough. Arsenal caught Brighton at a particularly bad time, too. They’re playing well and put in a solid performance today. That coincided with a decidedly off day from the Gunners. Oh well. Losing at Brighton isn’t the end of the world. Glass half full — six of nine points from @Aston Villa, @Sunderland, and @Brighton is as good or better than pretty much everyone in the Premier League will manage this season. This match will leave a sour taste but you move on. I’d bet the lads will do so in short order, if they haven’t already.
