From the moment the finish line in the top-four race came into close proximity, it felt almost inevitable that Arsenal’s grip on the final Champions League spot would be afflicted by a plague of arthritis. The first bout of that disposition was made plainly apparent earlier this week in a grim unravelling against Crystal Palace and, although this 2-1 defeat by Brighton was not quite so emphatic, its impact was no less devastating. A performance shorn of confidence has handed Tottenham the ascendancy and, in truth, Mikel Arteta can only field questions rather than complaints. The excuses of injuries to Thomas Partey and Kieran Tierney were not responsible for a display that seemed to be weighed down by doubt and then bled into desperation after falling behind to Leandro Trossard’s well-taken goal in the first half.
Many an aggrieved supporter might point to Gabriel Martinelli’s equaliser that was ruled out on the brink of half-time. The Brazilian had bustled the ball in at the back post after a scramble from a corner only for a near-four-minute VAR intervention to belatedly disallow the goal for a barely visible offside. There was still plenty of time at that point for Arsenal to make amends, though, and instead it was Brighton who compounded the Gunners’ misery when Enock Mwepu’s brilliant volley from the edge of the box beat Aaron Ramsdale with almost half an hour still left to play.
