If Mikel Arteta is right, and Arsenal could not afford to slip up here in their pursuit of the European spots, then this was a devastating blow. They had taken the lead through a marvellous goal from Nicolas Pépé midway through the second half and given the authority with which they had played for most of the afternoon there should have been little cause to expect what followed. But a resilient Brighton equalised quickly through Lewis Dunk and then, in a development that will nauseate Arsenal for two reasons, Neal Maupay floated in a superb winner with the final action of the game.
Maupay was at the centre of angry scuffles at full-time, with Mattéo Guendouzi particularly keen on an exchange of views and appearing to grab towards Maupay’s throat. The identity of Brighton’s match-winner must have enraged his opponents. He had already been central to the game’s abiding image, which was formed nine minutes before half-time when Bernd Leno, attending to a bouncing ball on the left side of his area, claimed it ahead of the striker. Leno had been comfortable favourite to win that battle, both through proximity and an extra seven inches in height.
Written by Nick Ames at the Amex Stadium
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/football/2020/jun/20/brighton-arsenal-premier-league-match-report under the title “
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