Sports
Arteta must bin 5/10 Arsenal flop
Arsenal retook their place at the top of the Premier League after beating Brighton and Hove Albion 2-1 at the Emirates Stadium.
Mikel Arteta’s side were the dominant team and managed to breach the Seagulls defence and secure a huge three points.
It didn’t take long for club captain Martin Odegaard to give the Gunners the lead, doing so just 14 minutes in. He managed to find space on the edge of the penalty area, picking the ball up off Bukayo Saka, before firing home into the bottom right corner.
It was a first half dominated by the home side, with Brighton not even managing a shot.
The North Londoners were able to double their lead seven minutes after the start of the second half. It was a bizarre own goal from Georginio Rutter, with the Frenchman flicking on a corner at the near post, with his header lifting over Bart Verbruggen’s head.
It was not plain sailing for Arteta’s men, though. With half an hour left, Diego Gomez fired home inside the penalty area after a shot rebounded off the post and fell at his feet. The Gunners, though, managed to hold on for the win.
It was not a flawless performance from Arsenal, but they got over the line.
Arsenal’s standout players vs. Brighton
Perhaps the one standout player from Arsenal’s win over Brighton was skipper, Odegaard. The Norwegian international was a constant threat in that right half-space, finding little pockets of space and managing to create five chances.
Indeed, that was how his goal came about. Odegaard managed to pull away into space and was gifted a lot of time.
Described as a “proper technician” by analyst H, he praised the midfielder for selling Verbruggen a dummy and whipping his shot to the near post at the last moment.
It was not just the Gunners skipper who impressed against Brighton. Declan Rice was once again a real standout for Arteta’s side, although he was playing at right-back rather than in his usual role in midfield.
The England international was lauded for his efforts by Goal journalist Richie Mills. He gave Rice a post-match rating of 7/10, praising him for ‘an energetic display’, noting that he had a role to play in Odegaard’s opener, and put the corner in for their second.
It was a good showing from both Odegaard and Rice, but it was not as easy for every Arsenal player.
The Arsenal player who needs to be dropped
It was another disappointing showing from Arsenal striker Viktor Gyokeres. The Swedish international has struggled for any sort of consistent form this season, and the clash with Brighton was a real continuation of that.
With less space to run into against his former club, it was another day where Gyokeres needed to hold the ball up rather than run the channels.
His struggles could only earn him a 5/10 from Mills, who said he was ‘sloppy and unconvincing’ once again.
Indeed, his stats from the game reflect what a tough night at the office it was for the Gunners’ number 14. He only managed 23 touches in the whole game, fewer than goalkeeper David Raya (40), and completed just four passes.
The striker had three shots, but could accumulate an expected goals tally of only 0.47xG.
|
Gyokeres stats vs. Brighton |
|
|---|---|
|
Stat |
Number |
|
Touches |
23 |
|
Passes completed |
4/7 |
|
Number of times ball lost |
10 |
|
Duels won |
1/8 |
|
Shots |
3 |
|
Expected goals |
0.47xG |
|
Stats from Sofascore |
|
It might be getting to the point for Arteta where he has no choice but to drop Gyokeres from the side. He has just seven goals this season and has looked far off the boil, with the Spaniard boasting other options at his disposal.
One of those is countryman Mikel Merino. The former Real Sociedad star has ten goals in 23 games as a centre-forward and has proven to be a brilliant option.
Gabriel Jesus is another player who could slot in up front, and Kai Havertz is back from injury soon, according to Arteta.
Either way, this form that the Swede is in at the moment is far from ideal for Arsenal. They need their striker to be more of a threat in his all-round game, and he is not bringing that to the side right now, or indeed at all this term.
It would certainly not be a surprise to see him drop out of the side ahead of their next game in midweek.
Berta has already agreed to sign Arsenal their answer to Antoine Semenyo
The potentially world-class talent could be Arsenal’s answer to Semenyo.
