MAUPAY MAKES IT MORE MISERY
Misfiring Gunners slump again after striker pounces late on
FREDDIE LJUNGBERG’S homecoming ended in miserable defeat, loud boos and a descent into Arsenal’s biggest dip of his lifetime.
Goals from Adam Webster and Neal Maupay either side of Alexandre Lacazette’s header consigned Arsenal to nine games in all competitions without a win – depths they have not ploughed since March 1977, the month before the temporary Arsenal manager and Gunners playing legend was born.
What made it worse was that three points were no more than Brighton deserved.
Albion went into the game on the back of three successive defeats, but you can tell a lot about the health of a side by their body language.
From the first minute Aaron Connolly was snapping at David Luiz’s heels and the visitors looked sharp, confident and determined to take the game to Arsenal.
Then there was the home side. Luiz shrugged defiantly after chasing back to turn the ball into touch from the middle of the pitch.
Mesut Ozil flapped his arms when Joe Willock expected him to take part in a give-and-go when give-andstay is very much more in keeping with the German playmaker’s work ethic.
Willock then threw himself unceremoniously on to the ground like an exasperated toddler when Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang did not make the run he expected.
It was to be the last act for the youngster, asked unfairly perhaps to be the cog at the heart of a side who simply did not seem to want to get going.
Earlier, Webster enjoyed the freedom of the Emirates to give Brighton the lead in the 36th minute from a set-piece and it was no more than the visitors deserved.
Just 10 minutes earlier, Connolly had come within inches of converting at the far post and, in between, a quickly-taken free-kick allowed Maupay to test the strength of Bernd Leno’s fingertips after a clear run on goal.
But Arsenal emerged from the dressing room a different animal after the break, with Nicolas Pepe belatedly thrown into the fray.
Five minutes into the second period a flicked header from Lacazette floated inside the far post to level the scores.
Luiz then thought he had equalised with a header from a free-kick, only for VAR to rule, non-controversially for once, that he was clearly offside.
Such is Arsenal’s frailty at the other end, however, that Brighton still had their chances – Maupay fluffing a golden opportunity when his control let him down just two yards from goal.
But the Brighton striker made amends with 10 minutes to go, heading a left-wing cross into the bottom corner for the winner.
Ljungberg cut a dejected figure, alone in his technical area with his hands thrust into the pockets of his coat. His body language spoke loudest of all.
ARSENAL (4-2-3-1): Leno 6; Bellerin 6, Sokratis 6, Luiz 5, Kolasinac 6 (Tierney 72); Xhaka 6, Torreira 5; Aubameyang 7, Willock 5 (Pepe 46, 6), Ozil 5; Lacazette 7 (Martinelli 77). Goal: Lacazette 50.
BRIGHTON (4-4-2): Ryan 6; Alzate 6 (Duffy 88), Webster 7, Dunk 6, Burn 6; Mooy 6, Stephens 6, Propper 7, Gross 6 (Trossard 80); Maupay 6, Connolly 7 (Montoya 76). Goals: Webster 36, Maupay 80. perhaps
CHRIS SMALLING and Romelu Lukaku have slammed Italian newspaper Corriere dello Sport for labelling their reunion tonight ‘Black Friday’.
In the latest racism storm to engulf Italian football, the paper has come under fire for its front-page headline ahead of Inter Milan’s clash with Roma.
Roma have confirmed they banned the outlet from their training ground until January, while their players will not carry out media duties with the paper in that period.
Serie A rivals AC Milan have followed suit, issuing an identical ban on the outlet in a joint statement released by the Italian clubs last night.
Smalling, on loan at Roma from Manchester United, says the newspaper must take responsibility for the headline.
He wrote on Twitter: “While I would have liked to spend the day focusing on the big game tomorrow, it is important that I acknowledge that what occurred was wrong and highly insensitive. I hope the editors involved take responsibility and understand the power they possess through words.”
Lukaku, who played with Smalling at United before joining Inter in August, said: “Instead of focusing on a battle between two teams, Corriere dello Sport comes with the most dumbest of headlines
I have ever seen.”