Arsenal’s run of losses have now extended to 4 games tonight as Brighton And Hove Albion won 2-1 at Amex Stadium. The hosts were the superior side right from the opening whistle and quite deservedly got themselves a 2-goal lead in the first half by taking advantage of the weak Arsenal defence.
Both the goals came from close proximity to the six-yard box and Arsene Wenger’s men were left chasing the match right from kick-off. The Gunners sparked a comeback through Aubameyang’s goal and Laurent Koscielny came close to equalising with a powerful header towards the first post. Unfortunately, the Frenchman’s header hit the woodwork and was cleared off on the rebound.
Here is how the players fared on the night.
Arsenal Player Ratings:
Petr Cech – 5/10
Was not physical enough to clear out the dipping cross which led to the first goal. The second goal could have been saved too but the shot was powerful enough to slip underneath the Czech international. He was otherwise pretty decent and made a few crucial saves.
Sead Kolasinac – 4/10
Lucky to be not sent off with a second yellow and was woeful defensively. He made a few backdoor runs and provided width from the left but nothing out of the ordinary.
Laurent Koscielny – 5/10
Not shy to make the 50-50 challenges but where is the marking? Another night of poor communication with his centre-half partner which saw Glenn Murray win an open header inside the penalty box.
Shkodran Mustafi – 5/10
Can be critiqued with the same points as Koscielny was. Should have tightened up on Murray to at least contest the open header.
Calum Chambers – 6/10
He was far better than his previous outing after spending a night on the unconventional right-back position. He provided a lot going forward but eventually could not match the pace of Jose Izquierdo.
Jack Wilshere – 5/10
Greatest contribution is picking the ball off from deep and squaring it either Ozil or taking on a couple of defenders without any end product. He was in the heat of almost every confrontation with the Brighton players. All in all another frustrating night for the number 10. Booked.
Granit Xhaka – 5/10
Only redeeming point of the match was his assist. Otherwise shambolic in terms of distribution and reading the game on the defensive end. Booked.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan – 5/10
Not clinical enough with possession as the Armenian struggled to link up with his teammates. He still managed to drill a few balls into the opposition box but none good enough to find the back of the net.
Mesut Ozil – 4/10
It is nights like these when the German fails to justify the £350,000 wage bill he takes home every week. Not dominant or energetic enough to formulate the Arsenal attacks as the majority of his passes were intercepted by the Albion players.
Alex Iwobi – 5/10
Very slow to react whenever on the ball. The extra touch on the ball often kills off the attacks and the entire team has to start all over again from the back.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – 7/10
Another frustrating night for the Gabon international but cannot be faulted too much. A lack of support from his teammates turned him into a spectator rather than the lethal threat that he really is in front of goal. He still worked hard off the ball and converted the one clear chance he had on goal.
Substitutes:
Danny Welbeck – 4/10
Could not make a difference with the limited touches he had on the ball.
Edward Nketiah – NA
Hector Bellerin – NA
