Arsenal FC lost 3 - 0 at the Emirates to Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday evening, leaving their title hopes hanging by a thread.
The North London side went into the match four-points behind Manchester City after the Cityzens dispatched struggling Everton by 3 goals to nil earlier in the day. Despite Mikel Arteta’s comments on his side’s readiness to fight till the end, they were outclassed by a determined Brighton side on the night, who bounced back from a surprise 5 – 1 home loss to Everton earlier in the week.
The match got off to a frenzy start and Gabriel Martinelli could have seen a yellow card for a challenge on Kaoru Mitoma, but referee Andy Madley opted to let him off with a warning. Shortly afterwards, the Brazilian was on the end of a reckless tackle from Moises Caicedo, and subsequently had to be substituted as he could not shake off the niggle.
The first-half went on with only a couple of half-chances created and despite Brighton keeping majority of possession, Arsenal had more shots heading into the break.
However, shortly after the restart, teenager Julio Enciso registered his third goal in his last eight games, with a free header following a Pervis Estupinan cross.
Thereafter, it went downhill for the Gunners who had to replace their three starting midfielders: Jorginho, Granit Xhaka and Martin Odegaard. This did little to help their cause as they conceded twice in the final 10-minutes of the game.
As things stand, Manchester City could seal the league title as early as Saturday if Arsenal lose away at Nottingham Forest. Manchester City need only three points in their final three games to be crowned champions and could well do that in their match against Chelsea next weekend.
