A case of missed opportunities or failure to control the latter stages of the game?

Arsenal were able to book a place in the semi-finals of the EFL Cup (Carabao Cup) on Tuesday night. It required a penalty shootout to finally defeat Crystal Palace, but it was a game filled with missed chances. However, thoughts were quickly snapped back to the Premier League with an important game against Brighton coming up. Manchester City were able to move their way past Nottingham Forest earlier in the day, so it was up to Arsenal to reclaim top spot.

Arsenal began the game on the front foot and were immediately trying to test the Brighton goalkeeper. Viktor Gyokeres had an attempt from the edge of the box that was well saved, Bukayo Saka then followed suit with another attempt on target. Bart Verbruggen was equal to that chance too. Brighton regained composure and began thwarting Arsenal’s opportunities before they turned into genuine chances. Leandro Trossard and Saka both had sighters before the deadlock was broken in the 14th minute. Martin Odegaard received a pass from Saka, around the edge of the box, the captain then decided to unleash a venomous strike that rifled into the bottom corner. This was supposed to be the early goal that would open the floodgates, but Arsenal really struggled to carve out more opportunities. In fact the next shot that Arsenal had wouldn’t be until the 32nd minute. Saka had another shot, but was saved again. Declan Rice and Saka both tried their luck on a variety of occasions, but nothing that troubled Verbruggen. However, Martin Zubimendi forced the Brighton keeper into an excellent save right before half time, Trossard then skied the rebound.

The 2nd half was quickly upon us and Arsenal knew a one goal advantage wasn’t good enough. Brighton had zero attempts in the first half, but experience will teach this Arsenal side that their opponents only need one chance. It was Brighton that earned the first chance of the 2nd half. Jack Hinshelwood delivered a reasonable attempt, but was easy for David Raya. Mikel Arteta’s men were then gifted their 2nd goal of the match through, yet another, own goal. Declan Rice floated in a corner which resulted in Georginio Rutter flicking a header on. The ball deceived everyone and it floated harmlessly into the back of the net. Arsenal deserved a second goal, but they had to make do with it being an own goal. It seemed like the Gunners would close out the match and perhaps add another one or two. The Seagulls had a different scenario in mind and managed to pull a goal back. Yasin Ayari crashed a shot against the post, the rebound fell into the path of Diego Gomez who smashed the ball home. Brighton then upped their intensity in search of their equaliser. Arsenal didn’t really have an answer, so it culminated in a shot from Yankuba Minteh that put all hearts in mouth. The ball was hit well and looked for all the world like it was going to curl in, but Raya launched himself in the ball’s direction and managed to get a strong enough hand on it to turn it over. The Arsenal crowd breathed a sigh of relief. Mats Wieffer sent a header over the bar from the resulting corner. Thankfully the rest of the chances fell Arsenal’s way for the rest of the game. The best chance of the final stages fell to Gabriel Martinelli. The Brazilian rushed to the front post to meet a low driven cross from Saka, he ended up ballooning his effort over the bar. It should’ve been the game there, but it wasn’t to be. Arsenal held on and won 2-1.

The statistics support the idea that Arsenal were dominant, but couldn’t put Brighton to the sword. The Gunners had 24 attempts with 6 on target. This generated an xG of 3.08, 4 big chances were created within that. Brighton had 8 shots with 3 on target. The xG finished on 0.85 with one big chance created.

Player Ratings:

Raya – 8 – The reality is that he didn’t have a whole lot to do, but that save he made from Minteh was as good as scoring a goal at the other end. It prevented them from equalising and creating an awkward end to the game.

Rice – 8 – Rice is clearly proving that he’s playing for the team, not for himself. Due to Timber’s absence, Rice slotted in at right back and performed excellently. He played his normal game, but provided more defensive coverage. He was brave in his duels and even provided a threat up top.

Saliba – 7 – A quiet game from Saliba. Calm and collected and was the anchor this team needed. Despite waves of attacks from Brighton, he dealt with most of them.

Hincapie – 6 – I think he’s better suited to playing left back, I feel he’s too rash to play in a back two. I like his desire and passion to defend, but it can leave the game feeling like it’s played on a knife edge. The calming presence of Gabriel will be welcome.

Lewis-Skelly – 6 – It was supposed to be Calafiori, but he had to be replaced in the starting lineup. I was happy with Skelly’s performance against Crystal Palace, but today felt so flat. He was weak in his duels and just couldn’t provide any support going forward. I feel like his confidence has been knocked for some reason, he’s still young and has room to develop.

Zubimendi – 7 – He was okay, didn’t put a foot wrong. He wasn’t playing so much as the metronome we come to know him as, but was involved more in the build up. He was unlucky not to score though.

Merino – 7 – He frustrated me less than he did against Palace. His constant need to throw himself to the floor under any challenge was infuriating me on Tuesday, but he wasn’t so bad in this one. His best attribute is his positioning and that was important in this fixture. He was often where his colleagues needed him to be and was crucial in sustaining attacks.

Odegaard – 9 (MOTM) – I can be Odegaard’s biggest critic sometimes, but this was a vintage display from him. He was oozing confidence and capped off his performance with a goal. If he can sustain this level of performance for the season then we’ll be fine from a creative standpoint.

Saka – 8 – I like how much smoother he looks when attempting to beat a defender. It doesn’t feel so robotic and one-dimensional. He has that spring in his step and is creating dangerous moments for fun. Although, it seems like he’s traded this smooth movement for his clinical nature in front of goal. He’s missing too many chances recently and something needs to change.

Gyokeres – 6 – I’m not entirely sure what it is, but it seems like he’s lost all level of anticipation. It seems like when balls are put into the box, he can’t sort his feet or create distance between him and the defender. What I think he needs to do is literally demand what he wants from his colleagues. I’m making a run here and that’s where I want the ball, if you can’t get it to that point then that’s on you.

Trossard – 7 – The Arsenal fans were getting on his back a bit, but he responded by turning a full back inside-out. He’s an important cog in our attacking system and it’s underrated what he provides. He’s a technically superior player to many of the players we have out there as well as having brilliant game intelligence. It doesn’t always translate to the pitch, but you can tell what he’s trying to do.

Substitutes:

Gabriel – 7 – I don’t think he really had much to do, but it’s just so nice to have him back. We’ve missed his presence at both ends and we’ll see much more from him over time.

Jesus – 7 – I think it was a nice little cameo from him. He held the ball up well and was constantly threatening the Brighton defenders. You can tell he’s lost a bit of his pace, but he was always more of an explosive player anyway. I do believe he’ll be best playing off the left and having a Gyokeres/Kai Havertz up top. His ability to flip a game in the blink of an eye is an incredible asset.

Martinelli – 7 – I would say that he came on too late for a rating, but he actually alleviated a lot of the Brighton pressure due to his ability as an outlet. His pace gave Brighton something to think about before chucking more players forward. However, his missed chance is bordering on unforgivable. He was only saved by the fact we won the game anyway. Great run to create the space, but again lacked any sort of composure.

That’s it for this match. It’s brilliant to get the three points, but getting a little frustrating that we can’t put games to bed. Manchester City can score more goals despite creating less. We can’t forget that this was a game we drew last season, so we can’t take three points lightly. We move on to Aston Villa next who just beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, extending their winning streak to 11 games. It goes without saying that our boys need to be on it from the get go and absolutely need to take their chances when it falls their way. Revenge is also on the menu due to them beating us so dramatically last time out. Here’s how I’d lineup.

Based on the recent news we have, this is the team I think we should go for. It seems like Jurrien Timber missing the game was simply to handle his minutes, so should hopefully be okay for Villa, if not then Rice will slot back in there and Merino will come in to his role. We’re not sure how serious Riccardo Calafiori’s injury is, but if he’s out then Gabriel and Hincapie can partner on the left. The rest of the team picks itself really. Odegaard can’t be dropped after that performance, but I do think to keep rotation fresh, Eberechi Eze will get the nod over Trossard. Aston Villa will be feeling a little depleted as Matty Cash and Boubacar Kamara are both suspended for this tie. We need to maintain intensity and keep the momentum going, but we also need to start taking our chances. If this team even becomes 20% more clinical then we’ll bury teams. Let’s do it!