Arsenal run out of steam to end any hopes of overtaking Manchester City

Arsenal 0 Brighton 3    
Premier League   
Sunday 14th May 2023 4.30pm    

 

It was a brief recovery – the wins against Chelsea and Newcastle giving hope that Arsenal might still be able to win the title in the event that Man City were to drop five points in two of their remaining four matches. The earlier kick off narrowed the opportunities of that happening down to three remaining games for Pep Guardiola’s side – none of them foregone conclusions, although in their current form, one thing was absolutely beyond question. Arsenal had to finish with maximum points from their last five fixtures. Two down and three to go, but Brighton have frequently proved difficult opposition at the Emirates since being promoted to the Premier League, and that didn’t change yesterday afternoon.

 

It was a similar starting eleven that battled their way to a 2-0 win last weekend at Newcastle,  Tierney for Zinchenko the only change, but the energy and determination to win the points were absent. The team were not helped by an early bad foul by Caicedo on Martinelli that didn’t even draw a card and led to Trossard coming on after only 20 minutes to face his old team. Even so, Trossard was not a significant step down in quality. Brighton though, worked out how to exploit Arsenal by playing the ball out from the back, inviting the Gunners onto them and then hitting them with long passes into the gaps created as a consequence. 

 

The visitors had the best of the chances in the first half, Trossard hitting the top of the bar the closest that Arsenal came to scoring. They were struggling to create. Ben White was also struggling against Mitoma. Unfortunately, this led to Brighton’s opening goal in the second half, which looked just too easy to score, with the players not tight enough to their men. Watching later on TV Kiwior lost his boot as a result of Ferguson catching the back of it and went down. With hindsight he’d have been better playing in a sock, as it left Enciso with a free header. It was a mess, and not one VAR felt the need to intervene on. 39 minutes to salvage their title challenge lay ahead, but it was to get worse. That Brighton’s centre backs were able to launch long balls to their attackers with such ease pointed to the lack of energy in Arsenal’s forward press. 

 

Xhaka and Jorginho were replaced by Nelson and Partey for the last 30 minutes, but it simply weakened them more defensively. It was a risk Arteta had to take, but it didn’t work out. It was a bad day to have a bad day at the office. Nelson came close on one occasion, but clear-cut chances were few and far between. Arsenal managed two efforts on target in the 90 minutes. Things might have been better had Martinelli not been crocked, as Trossard failed to have as much influence as he has in previous appearances. In the 86th minute he tried to play a clever flick in his own half that was intercepted, the ball looping to the area where a free Undav could easily chip Ramsey. You felt the players had already given up and Trossard’s contribution to the goal summed it up. 

Mentally, the resources that the team had drawn on at St James’s Park seemed spent during this game. And in the cold light of day, you have to admit that Newcastle were unfortunate not to score last weekend. Yesterday, Arsenal’s luck ran out, but they contributed to their own downfall with a lacklustre display. That’s understandable. The squad is ultimately too thin, and even exiting all cup involvement with 11 league matches remaining did not provide enough rest time for the final push that a successful title campaign required. Manchester City just need to win one of their remaining three games to retain the title. 

 

Deep into injury time, a third goal was seen by those that remained as Estupinan converted a Ramsdale save. It really didn’t matter. As Doktor Schneide messaged me, “Over, not with a bang, but a whimper”. The season will end in disappointment, but we can review it more fully another time. Finishing second is certainly a lot more of an achievement than anyone thought likely back at the start of August, but the fact Arsenal led the table for so much of the season has created the current sense of anti-climax.

 

The club have been in credible contention for the title at the three quarter mark of the season on four previous occasions since the stadium move back in 2006. In each of those campaigns, wins have dried up in the last ten matches – I am talking 2008, 2010, 2011, and 2016. So it has been in 2023. Arsenal have played eight of their last ten and won three of those games. They’ve have taken 15 points from 24. It’s not title-winning form, and with Manchester City taking all 33 points from their last eleven matches, they are not going to blow it now. Their financial advantage is one thing and it does appear that they have broken an awful lot of FFP rules to make the most of the fortune of their Middle Eastern owners. Add to that the reality that they have generally used this money wisely and the odds against a less wealthy club usurping them are longer than is healthy for the league. Liverpool had a shot at competing with them but won a single title in the last six seasons. City have taken the rest. 

 

Arsenal’s task is to remain competitive and build upon the progress made this season through establishing a deeper squad and cutting out the concession of cheap goals. But as stated earlier, we will see their season conclude with a whimper rather than a bang. Second place is already secured and the players will find it hard to motivate themselves for the final two matches. Unless you believe in miracles (two City defeats and a draw), the season’s over.

 

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