Brighton & Hove Albion shock the Emirates Stadium and take all three points back home as Arsenal slip away from a UEFA Champion League spot. Goals from Leandro Trossard and Enock Mwepu give The Seagulls a breath after seven games in a row without winning.
Graham Potter's men complete a remarkable game and climb up to the 11th place in the league despite a thrilling end game after Martin Odegaard´s goal.
Match story
Throughout the first half, Arsenal had the control of the possession but wouldn´t convert it into chances. Something that Brighton did every time they had the ball. It did not take long for the seagulls to score their goal when in the 23rd minute, Mwepu ran down the flank, reached the byline, crossed it perfectly to Trossard who wasn´t marked by anyone and fired it top bins unreachable for Aaron Ramsdale.
Nevertheless, Arsenal had a wake-up call and not long after, Gabriel hit the side net after a set piece from the right side. Right before halftime, VAR controversy came into play as Gabriel Martinelli got disallowed a goal. Martin Atkinson had to calm everyone down, as the play was being reviewed and after minutes of silence and tension, VAR decided Martinelli was in an offside position.
Second half resumed and the story was the same. Arsenal had the ball most, but Brighton would be a menace every time they got close to their opponent’s goal. The gunners attack would mostly come from Odegaard and Bukayo Saka´s boots.
When Arsenal seemed more threatening, Brighton shocked the home fans with a fantastic goal in the 66th minute after a delightful play between Trossard and Moises Caicedo who then crossed it to the edge of the box and Mwepu hammered a volley into the bottom corner.
Arsenal kept going, they looked for a goal and their hopes stayed alive when in the 89th minute Odegaard projected a missile from the long distance cutting down the distance and making the Emirates believe.
Six minutes added and Brighton had to go through hell. Two major occasions from Arsenal at injury time, one came from Eddie Nketiah as he headed the ball to the right corner but Robert Sanchez flew across the goal to stop it from going in. And Gabriel had the last chance of the game after Saka crossed it in and the defender headed it but Marc Cucurella cleared it off the line to give the win to his team.
Brighton carried out a very aggressive game which worked out as the seagull’s average under 10 fouls a game which compared to the 19 made this game, shows how much Graham Potter wanted his players to stop any kind of counterattack.
Quality Players
Despite being subbed due to an injury, the Zambian player displayed his full potential on the pitch. Not only he contributed by assisting on the first goal but he also scored the second goal of the game which closed the game. The 24 year old player had 80% of his passes completed and stressed Arsenal´s defence as much as possible as he was successful every time he dribbled past a defender
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What´s next?
This win boosts Brighton´s moral, especially as this is the first time Brighton win a Premier League in April. Potter´s men will travel back to London next Saturday to face Tottenham Hotspur.