Arsenal continue their unbeaten streak in the Premier League which now extends to 10 matches. But this new undefeated meeting probably has a bitter taste for the Gunners who let two precious points slip away in the title race with Liverpool. After opening the score on the Brighton pitch in the first half thanks to Ethan Nwaneri, they finally conceded a draw on a goal from Joao Pedro on the hour mark (1-1).
Mikel Arteta's players showed too little spirit to hope for anything other than bringing home a point from the American Express Stadium. However, it was they who opened the scoring with their only big chance of the first period. Established on the right wing in place of the still injured Bukayo Saka, Ethan Nwaneri proved his coach right. Launched on his side by Mikel Merino, the young nugget entered the area before slipping the ball under Bart Verbruggen with a flat left foot (0-1, 16th).
No longer enterprising, the Seagulls returned to the locker room trailing by the score. The break also did them good, returning to the pitch with much better intentions. Solid until then, the London defense ended up giving in to an innocuous action. Wanting to intervene on an aerial ball, William Saliba headbutted Joao Pedro, giving the locals a penalty. The Brazilian took charge of transforming this offering himself (1-1, 61st).
Liverpool can take off
Behind, Fabian Hürzeler's men continued to push, taking advantage of the apathy of the Cannoneers. In a similar action to the opening score, Yankuba Minteh came close to allowing his team to lead. But his cross-shot skimmed the post to the delight of David Raya (77th). And the scoreboard didn't move after that. A result which allows Brighton to return to 10th place in the championship.
Considering the end of the match, the point obtained by Arsenal may seem like a lesser evil as the team seemed far from its standards. The residents of the Emirates Stadium retain their second place in the standings and come back to 5 points behind Liverpool. However, the Reds are two days behind and can take a comfortable (enough?) lead to win a new national crown.
