It is surely over bar the shouting. There was plenty of that in increasingly desperate measure from the Arsenal support but, with their team falling short, it feels safe to say that Manchester City are about to be crowned as the Premier League champions for the fifth time in six seasons.
Arsenal have given it a heck of a roll and it seems like a trick of the mind that many people did not think they would finish in the top four before the start of the campaign. But needing victory to keep alive their title hopes after City had won at Everton earlier in the day, they were brought to their knees by Roberto De Zerbi’s Brighton, who gave a second-half masterclass and can scent European qualification for the first time in their club’s history.
Julio Enciso, Brighton’s latest star in the making, scored the first on 51 minutes and when the substitute Deniz Undav lobbed home the second towards the end it was the prompt for De Zerbi to tear along the line in celebration and thousands of Arsenal fans to head for the exits.
Undav’s goal came after Leandro Trossard, on as a substitute to face his former club, had seen an attempted flick snuffed out by Pascal Gross as Arsenal tried to build from the goalkeeper, Aaron Ramsdale. The ball looped up and back for Undav, who was onside, and Arsenal were broken.
There would be eight additional minutes but no prospect of an Arsenal comeback. Instead Brighton salted the wounds, Pervis Estupiñán scoring the third after Ramsdale had weakly parried an Undav shot. This time De Zerbi went for a knee slide on the pitch. He had got his tactics spot‑on, this the latest showcase for his acumen and courage.
A Champions League place will probably be beyond Brighton, the Europa League more likely, but the finest season in their history keeps on giving. They had already set a club record for most points in a top-flight campaign, most wins and most goals scored.
For Arsenal, there was only frustration, the impression of wind departing from sails. It had been flat at the Emirates Stadium leading up to kick‑off, a consequence of City’s stroll at Goodison Park – how had Everton won 5-1 at Brighton last Monday? – and there was bad early karma for the home team, Gabriel Martinelli forced off after a reprisal tackle from Moisés Caicedo.
Moments earlier Martinelli had cleaned out Kaoru Mitoma in an aerial challenge; he first checked his opponent’s position and it looked like a cheap shot. Martinelli escaped censure. He did not escape Caicedo’s lunge, Martinelli twisting awkwardly as he went down. Caicedo, who Arsenal had tried to sign in January, also dodged a booking, which was strange.
On came Trossard, who did leave Brighton for Arsenal in January, and he was booed by the visiting fans. There was niggle throughout, the challenges sometimes heavy, and there was a lot of pressure on the officials. De Zerbi heard abuse from a fan behind his bench. He blew kisses at him.
Arsenal had the bulk of the chances before the interval with Trossard grazing the top of the crossbar after slicing inside Caicedo, who filled in at right-back. Bukayo Saka dragged just wide on the stroke of half-time after Gabriel Jesus had thrashed in a low cross and, among other flickers, Arsenal could point to Jesus working Jason Steele at the near post.
Enciso carried the fight for Brighton in the first half, working Ramsdale early on and firing high on 37 minutes after Mitoma had rinsed Ben White. Arsenal wanted to stop Brighton from playing out from the back, to pinch the ball high up, and a good deal of the jeopardy came in the visitors’ first third when they were in possession.
Arsenal forced them into errors at the outset – and in dangerous areas, too – but Brighton stuck to their guns. To De Zerbi, the reward is always worth the risk. Some of Brighton’s buildup play was so easy on the eye, Alexis Mac Allister outstanding at the heart of it.
De Zerbi had said after the Everton defeat that Arsenal would see the “true Brighton”. This was it, the strength of their character to the fore. For Mikel Arteta, it was the wrong Arsenal and he was moved to apologise to supporters. If his team could not find their rhythm before half-time – a number of fouls interrupting the game’s flow – they fell apart in the second period; losing runners, second best in the duels.
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Brighton shimmered with menace and they broke through after Mitoma had got to a long ball ahead of White and ushered in Estupiñán on the overlap. Estupiñán’s first cross was headed back to him by Kieran Tierney and when he tried again, close to the byline on the left, banging the ball into the ground and watching it rear up, there was Enciso to glance home. Enciso was all alone in front of goal because his marker, Jakub Kiwior, had felt a stamp from Evan Ferguson and gone to ground.
Arteta made changes, introducing Thomas Partey and Reiss Nelson, moving Trossard inside from the left; Emile Smith Rowe and Eddie Nketiah would also enter. It became extremely angsty for Arsenal, every whistle against them provoking uproar, testing Arteta’s patience.
Brighton simply trusted themselves in the one-versus-ones, on and off the ball, with Mitoma tormenting White. Nelson banged just wide and Trossard shot straight at Steele. It was a day when everybody in red would suffer.
