"Insult on injury in injury time" was the match commentator's take on Arsenal as the centre referee Martin Atkinson brought the match to an end. It sure summed up Arsenal's evening against Brighton and Hove Albion. The Gunners, aiming to kick their European ambition back on track after the pitiful defeat against Manchester City, were brought down to earth by bottom club Brighton.
There are few clubs more dangerous than a club fighting relegation, Brighton duly proved that against a damaged Arsenal which for the 2nd match in a row lost another player to injury as highly influential goalkeeper Bernd Leno was stretched off 5 minutes before halftime, it could be recalled that both Granit Xhaka and Pablo Mari were taken off just after 25 minutes of play against Manchester City.
The Gunners were slightly ahead of Brighton in the passage of play but lack the cutting edge in front of the opposition goal. However, they broke the dreadlock 8 minutes after the hour mark when Wideman Nicolas Pepe cut in inside the box to beat Mathew Ryan in goal with a curler. But the Gunners were unsurprisingly pegged back 1st by a Lewis Dunk(75') equalizer and then Neal Maupay(90+5') injury-time winner.
The win was a much-needed breather for Brighton who is now on 32 points, 5 points clear of relegation spots. Arsenal, on the other hand, has slipped further down the table to 10th on 40 points. A rare win for Burnley against Manchester City on Monday night football would push the Gunners further down to 11th.
A new course for concern for the Gunners' manager Mikel Arteta is the growing injury list to key players. Is the unexpected league long layoff to blame for their woes or is it just another streak of bad luck? It's another big question mark added to a growing list of questions yet to be answered at the club.
Thank you all for your time.
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