Premier League
Emery Left To Face Serious Questions As Selection Choices Again Blunt Arsenal at Brighton
Gunners Firing Early
With the frightening prospect of a trip to Anfield looming on Saturday, Arsenal headed to Brighton desperate for three points. Gooners were relieved when the match day squad was released. It appeared Emery had settled his differences with Mesut Özil and Alexandre Lacazette, as both were in the starting 11 for the second consecutive game.
The match began positively for Arsenal. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang forced a save from Mathew Ryan in the Brighton goal with an ambitious lob in the 4th minute. Three minutes later they were ahead. Lacazette chased Leon Balogan into the corner. The defender’s attempted clearance was blocked by the Frenchman. A second clearance came back off Lucas Torriera before the ball eventually fell to Lacazette at the top of the area. Lacazette faked two shots as he attempted to find a shooting angle. Impressively, he managed to change his mind and locate his wide open strike partner on the left side of the box. Aubameyang dispatched the perfectly weighted ball with aplomb, placing it clinically into the top corner of the far post.
Turning Point
Brighton grew into the game after a difficult opening half hour. Still, they would have been two behind if not for the heroics of Ryan in goal. The lively Aubameyang used his pace to once again create a scoring chance. His glorious run was found by a sumptuous Torriera pass over the top of the defense. Given Aubameyang’s imperious form, the entire stadium expected the Gabonese striker to extend his lead in the Golden Boot race. Instead, Ryan got his right hand down brilliantly to deflect the low, driven effort wide. It would have been a long way back for the Seagulls at 2-0. Instead, they had a lifeline.
Own-Assist of the Season Contender
The hosts turned the momentum from the save into an equalizer in the 35th minute. An overhit Granit Xhaka corner traveled to the opposite sideline before being collected by a Brighton defender. Seeing only Mattéo Guendouzi and Stephan Lichtsteiner back, the ball was lumped forward to initiate a counter attack. As the ball hung in the air, the old Swiss defender appeared to age an additional year struggling to sort his body out in an attempt to head the ball from harm.
Instead, he produced one of the finest assists to the wrong team England has seen all season. The ball deflected off his head in the opposite direction as he intended and fell perfectly into the path of Locadia. Guendouzi completely misread the play and failed to provide cover, leaving the Brighton winger in on goal. Bernd Leno was caught in no man’s land outside of his own box. Locadia easily evaded the keeper’s awkward attempt at a tackle and rolled the ball into an open net.
Baffling Decisions by Emery
The drab second half of the match will be remembered only for the strange substitutions made by the Arsenal manager. Needing a goal to win the match and keep pace with the competitive race for the top-4, Emery did the opposite of what makes sense. He withdrew Ozil at halftime and Lacazette only 15 minutes later. The decisions left the Gunners bereft of two of their top three offensive weapons. It also continued the troubling theme of Emery offering limited playing time to two of the club’s biggest stars. Ozil and Lacazette were visibly frustrated with the manager as the situation threatens to become untenable, particularly with Ozil.
Both teams finished the second stanza without a shot on frame. Predictably, Arsenal were unable to create any threat despite holding the majority of possession. The Gunners looked static and pedestrian without their best creator and energetic striker. Xhaka, Torreira and Guendouzi were redundant in the center of the park. The latter managed to complete yet another 90 minutes despite offering nothing going forward.
The previously-unknown teen from France’s second division has shockingly played the most games of any player in the squad. Meanwhile, big names like Ozil, Lacazette and Aaron Ramsey are struggling to find minutes. Emery’s honeymoon period is waning as fans are beginning to question the Spaniard’s player preferences. Dropping points is more difficult to stomach with high-priced stars spending so much time off the field.
Moving Forward
The day’s results see Arsenal fall out of the top-4. Brighton meanwhile sit in 13th, comfortably out of the drop-zone. Arsenal visit Liverpool while Brighton welcome Everton on Saturday as the hectic Christmas period continues.
Photo credit to OficialBHAFC via Twitter
