Arsenal suffered a major blow in their pursuit of top four on Saturday after they were defeated by Brighton at the Emirates stadium.
A 2-1 loss was enough to condemn the Gunners to further problems in the race for Champions League football as Tottenham Hotspur eased past Aston Villa in the midlands. Although they picked up a late consolation through Martin Odegaard, Mikel Arteta's side are now in a difficult predicament moving forward.
Let's take a look at how football.london's Arsenal writer Kaya Kaynak rated the Arsenal players involved.
READ MORE: Arsenal defender Hector Bellerin comes to Real Betis decision after verbal agreement is reached
Aaron Ramsdale: Could he have done more to stop the Mwepu volley? Perhaps. He wasn't really the main reason Arsenal lost today even if his passing wasn't quite its usual accurate self. 5.
Cedric: Was done by some terrific passing in the build up to the second goal and Brighton's incisiveness in possession meant he couldn't get forward as much on the right. 6.
Ben White: Had occasions where he dawdled on the ball a touch but that was more to do the lack of movement in front of him. Lots of touches but not much incision with his passing. 5.
Gabriel: Much better than on Monday night and came very close to a goal and arguably should have had an assist for Martinelli's goal that was ruled out. Far too passive on the ball though. 5.
Granit Xhaka: Bizarrely chosen to play left back again and it didn't really work. Drifted infield where he could but couldn't support the attack and was shown up in his one-vs-one defending at times. 5.
Albert Sambi Lokonga: Just doesn't compare to Thomas Partey at the base of Arsenal's midfield. His passing, while forward for the most part, was often inaccurate and the Gunners struggled to create through the middle as a result. 5.
Martin Odegaard: Looked to lose his composure a little as Arsenal began to chase the game. Some very strange decisions in possession and couldn't create despite being asked to play in that right hand pod where he's been so effective recently. Did manage to pull one back with a deflected effort from distance though and kept trying till the end. 7.
Emile Smith Rowe: Had a few decent moments where his runs into the box from the left eight position worked, but appeared to pick up an injury and wasn't really the same after that. 5.
Bukayo Saka: You know it's not your day when even Saka has a bad game. Nothing quite worked for him going forward, while his shooting and passing was off for much of the encounter. 5.
Alexandre Lacazette: Non-existent again. Teams have snuffed out the Frenchman as a link man in recent weeks and with his goalscoring record as poor as it is, you wonder what he brings to the team. 4.
Gabriel Martinelli: Probably the most likely scorer for Arsenal on the day. Was very unlucky to see his goal on the stroke of half-time ruled out for offside. Created the most chances in the first half but looked to pick up an injury in the second. 7.
Substitutes -
Eddie Nketiah: Did very little to impact the match after coming on. Had a huge chance but managed to hit it off the underside of the crossbar. 5.
Nicolas Pepe: Got into the box and offered more of a threat in the final third as Arsenal chased the game, but was probably brought on too late. 6.
With 30 games played, Arsenal are three points behind Spurs in the league, although they do have a game in hand. However, as the north London derby is set to played at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium, the Lilywhites are now definitely favourites for qualification.
