The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Gunners’ hopes of title left in tatters
Arsenal’s fading Premier League titles hopes are all but over after second-half goals by Julio Enciso, Deniz Undav and Pervis Estupinan earned Brighton a stunning 3-0 win at the Emirates.
Yesterday’s result means Manchester City only need one more victory from their final three games to defend their crown and they could be confirmed as champions as early as Saturday night if Mikel Arteta’s side lose at Nottingham Forest.
Arteta admitted prematch it was must-win for Arsenal but they tasted defeat after a promising first-half showing thanks to Enciso’s 51st-minute header and late efforts by Undav and Estupinan.
It keeps alive the faint top-four hopes of Roberto De Zerbi’s team, who claimed another scalp in their outstanding season to move up to sixth with games in hand on Liverpool, Manchester
United and Newcastle. Gunners boss Mikel Arteta apologised for his team’s display on a difficult afternoon, a week after an impressive 2-0 win at Newcastle.
He told Sky Sports: “A week from here, I was standing here and feeling proud, that’s the feeling that we had. Today, we have to apologise because the performance that we had in the second half is not acceptable.”
Asked if the title race was over, he added: “Mathematically it is still possible and this is football but today it is impossible to be thinking about it.
“We have to face just the result, the performance that we had in the second half and understand why and obviously have a very different reaction the next game.”
Enciso had tested Aaron Ramsdale with a firm nearpost effort by this point and Martin Odegaard had sent a low strike wide but the contest had failed to get going following a stop-start opening.
Arsenal slowly got into their groove and Jason Steele had to kick away a Gabriel Jesus shot from a narrow angle before Leandro Trossard went close against his old club.
Trossard, a replacement for Gabriel Martinelli, was booed by the away fans and nearly gained payback after half an hour when Odegaard and Granit Xhaka exchanged passes to find the Belgian but his swerving effort clipped the top of the crossbar from 16 yards.
Brighton improved after that let-off and Enciso should have done better when Kaoru Mitoma skinned Ben White and teed up the Paraguayan but he scooped over.
It only took six minutes of the second half for Arsenal’s profligacy to be punished.
Mitoma found the overlapping Estupinan, who had not been tracked by Bukayo Saka, on the left but after his first delivery had been half-cleared, his scuffed follow-up cross found its way to Enciso, who headed home.
With four minutes left it was good night to Arsenal’s title challenge when Trossard’s intended flicked pass hit Pascal Gross and ricocheted into the path of Undav, who lobbed over Ramsdale.
De Zerbi sprinted down the touchline to celebrate and was at it again deep into stoppage-time when Estupinan capped a fine display with a first Brighton goal after he fired home, when Ramsdale spilled Undav’s effort.
De Zerbi said: “I’m really pleased with the performance because we deserved to win, I think. It was a very tough game, but to play here is always difficult and for us today was more difficult because on Monday we lost an incredible game.”