Misfiring Gunners can’t make Spurs pay for slip-up
ARSENAL failed to take advantage of Tottenham’s surprise 1-0 lunchtime loss to Brighton as they slipped to defeat at Southampton by the same scoreline.
The Gunners had a chance to move level on points with their North London rivals in fourth place after Leandro Trossard’s 90th-minute winner for the Seagulls rocked Antonio Conte’s men.
However, Jan Bednarek’s goal on the stroke of half-time at St Mary’s was enough to condemn Arsenal to their fourth defeat in five games and allow Manchester United to leapfrog them in the race for the final Champions League spot.
Mikel Arteta’s side retain a game in hand on Spurs, albeit a tricky trip to Chelsea, but another shotshy performance will not fill the Gunners faithful with hope.
They dominated possession for much of the afternoon but, in the absence of the ill Alexandre Lacazette, they lacked a cutting edge and rarely troubled Saints, who had ex-Celtic goalkeeper Fraser Forster in imperious form.
The decisive moment came after Arsenal only partially cleared a James Ward-Prowse corner.
Romain Perraud recycled the ball and former Parkhead loanee Mohamed Elyounoussi set up Poland defender Bednarek to lash home his fourth goal of the season.
‘To lose the way we did today is difficult to explain,’ said Arteta. ‘You have to make the decisive moments count and at the moment we’re not doing that.’
Arsenal’s defeat was a let-off for below-par Spurs, who failed to muster a single shot on target.
A week after Brighton had beaten the Gunners at the Emirates, the Seagulls repeated the trick as Belgium forward Trossard weaved into the area and poked home to seal back-to-back wins for the first time since September.
Spurs boss Conte lamented: ‘We started very slowly and in this type of game you have to move the ball quickly. I want to find an excuse, but it was not a good game for us.’
Watford’s slim survival chances suffered another blow as Brentford won 2-1 at Vicarage Road.
The Bees took an early lead when Christian Norgaard slotted the ball home after 15 minutes.
Emmanuel Dennis levelled for 10 minutes into the second half.
But Pontus Jansson’s header in the second minute of stoppage time leaves Watford with a mountain to climb to avoid the drop.