Arsenal v Brighton & Hove Albion Live Commentary & Result, 14/05/2023, Premier League

Pos	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	+/-	PTS	Form
1	MCI Manchester City	38	28	5	5	94	33	+61	89	L D W W W
2	ARS Arsenal	38	26	6	6	88	43	+45	84	W L L W W
3	MUN Manchester United	38	23	6	9	58	43	+15	75	W W W W L
4	NEW Newcastle United	38	19	14	5	68	33	+35	71	D D W D L
5	LIV Liverpool	38	19	10	9	75	47	+28	67	D D W W W
6	BHA Brighton & Hove Albion	38	18	8	12	72	53	+19	62	L D W L W
7	AVL Aston Villa	38	18	7	13	51	46	+5	61	W D W L L
8	TOT Tottenham Hotspur	38	18	6	14	70	63	+7	60	W L L W L
9	BRE Brentford	38	15	14	9	58	46	+12	59	W W W L W
10	FUL Fulham	38	15	7	16	55	53	+2	52	L D W W L
11	CRY Crystal Palace	38	11	12	15	40	49	-9	45	D D W L W
12	CHE Chelsea	38	11	11	16	38	47	-9	44	D L L D W
13	WOL Wolverhampton Wanderers	38	11	8	19	31	58	-27	41	L D L W L
14	WHU West Ham United	38	11	7	20	42	55	-13	40	L W L W L
15	BOU AFC Bournemouth	38	11	6	21	37	71	-34	39	L L L L W
16	NFO Nottingham Forest	38	9	11	18	38	68	-30	38	D W D W L
17	EVE Everton	38	8	12	18	34	57	-23	36	W D L W D
18	LEI Leicester City	38	9	7	22	51	68	-17	34	W D L L D
19	LEE Leeds United	38	7	10	21	48	78	-30	31	L L D L L
20	SOU Southampton	38	6	7	25	36	73	-37	25	D L L L L

That's all from the Emirates Stadium today, so thank you for joining us and goodbye!

While Brighton must travel to fellow European hopefuls Newcastle United next week, Arsenal will have to recover from such a huge setback to take on Nottingham Forest in six days' time.

Surely letting their last hope of lifting the Premier League trophy slip, Arsenal have been taken apart by a brilliant Brighton side, who played with great conviction and personality to boost their European ambitions again. Albion bounce straight back from their shock defeat last week, and a victory earned by three second-half goals virtually assures that Manchester City will remain English champions; the Gunners apparently have nothing left to give.

90' + 8' FULL-TIME: ARSENAL 0-3 BRIGHTON AND HOVE ALBION

P. Estupiñán

Goal

90' + 6' BRIGHTON HAVE THREE! A brilliant performance by the visitors is capped off when Ramsdale can only parry Undav's shot into the path of Estupinan, who has persistenly strode into the Arsenal area today. He then fires home from 10 yards to make it 3-0 to the Seagulls!

90' + 5' Nketiah drives in from the left but finds his run ended by Caicedo's tackle inside the area. The latter has played as a right-back today - and to good effect.

90' + 3' It's all Arsenal at the moment, but Brighton are keeping them at bay. Sitting compact inside their defensive third, De Zerbi's side do not look like letting their clean sheet slip.

90' + 1' Due to two goals being scored, several substiutions being made and Enciso's injury, there are to be at least eight minutes of stoppage time at the end of this second half.

89' Following his strike today, Undav has now scored three goals in his last four Premier League matches, having failed to find the net in any of in his first 14 appearances.

T. Partey

Yellow Card

88' A foul on Mitoma sees Partey shown yellow, and the Ghana midfielder has struggled to keep up with the pace of this game since arriving from the bench.

P. Groß

Assist

86' Gross diverts the ball into Undav's path on the edge of Arsenal's area, laying on Brighton's crucial second goal.

D. Undav

Goal

86' BRIGHTON SEAL IT! Only seconds after seeing a speculative shot easily saved, Undav reacts first when Trossard's loose pass deflects his way via Gross. From the edge of the area, the substitute then lofts the ball over a stranded Ramsdale and into the back of the net! Game over, surely; is the title race over too?

84' Nelson earns Arsenal a corner, which Trossard delivers from the right. Despite all their efforts to keep the attack alive inside Brighton's box, though, the home side can't get a shot off and the move fizzles out.

D. Undav

J. Enciso

82' Brighton's final change: forced off by injury, Enciso must make way for Undav.

80' Apparently in agony, Enciso is left down on the turf and does not look like he'll be able to carry on. The game is paused while Brighton's goalscorer is assessed by the medical staff.

F. Buonanotte

E. Ferguson

77' Ferguson's shift up front comes to an early end, as Buonanotte comes on for Brighton.

E. Smith Rowe

M. Ødegaard

77' It has not been Odegaard's day, and the Arsenal skipper makes way for Smith Rowe.

E. Nketiah

Gabriel Jesus

77' Arsenal make their final two changes, in hope of turning the result their way during the closing stages. First, Jesus is replaced by Nketiah up front.

76' CLOSE! Welbeck is outnumbered on the right but still cleverly beats three men with a clipped pass to Mac Allister. The Brighton midfielder does not hesitate before unleashing a low strike just past the left-hand post!

74' Arsenal cannot string together any coherent passing sequences inside the Brighton half. It's all too hurried, and desperation seems to be setting in now.

72' A reverse pass from Odegaard splits the Brighton defence, but Trossard slightly snatches at his shot and drives a tame effort straight at Steele, who claims it quite comfortably.

70' Gabriel completes a clearing header on the edge of his six-yard box, following Mac Allister's corner from the left. Arsenal then launch a counter-attack, as the game becomes increasingly open.

68' Still driving forward down the left with great freedom, Estupinan fires over the crossbar from a tight angle.

67' From more than 20 yards out, Welbeck sends a rather hopeful low shot past the left-hand post from the right. It was a quick counter from Brighton, but that was perhaps not the best use of the ball.

65' Deep inside their defensive third, Mitoma and Estupinan combine well to strip Saka of the ball, as Brighton are forced further back by a more aggressive home side.

63' JUST WIDE! Making a quick impact, Nelson drives in from the left and reaches the edge of the area before scudding a powerful low shot narrowly wide of the right-hand post!

62' Gross delivers an outswinging free-kick into the box from the right flank, but Ramsdale punches the ball clear under pressure and is then awarded a free-kick himself.

T. Partey

Jorginho

60' Partey comes into the Arsenal midfield, as a direct replacement for Jorginho.

R. Nelson

G. Xhaka

60' Arteta makes two more changes. First, Nelson is introduced in place of Xhaka.

D. Welbeck

B. Gilmour

60' Brighton make their first substitution, as ex-Arsenal man Welbeck replaces Gilmour for the final half-hour.

58' Popping the ball confidently around their harried hosts, Brighton are keeping the ball well. Arsenal are once again deprived of any sustained possession.

56' Brighton have lost just one of their last 13 Premier League matches when scoring the opening goal - winning nine. Their only defeat during that run came at Nottingham Forest last month.

P. Groß

Yellow Card

55' For clattering Jorginho with a full-blooded challenge in midfield, Gross is booked by the referee.

54' Kiwior is fit enough to return to the fray, as the action resumes.

53' The game is paused, as Kiwior nurses an injury sustained when Arsenal conceded the opening goal. It clearly hampered his efforts to keep the ball out of the net.

P. Estupiñán

Assist

51' Having seen his first cross blocked, Estupinan delivers a second ball into the six-yard box from the left; setting up Enciso's goal.

J. Enciso

Goal

51' BRIGHTON LEAD! Finally rewarded for bossing the ball today, the Seagulls swoop first! Mitoma beats White twice on the left, then lays the ball off to Estupinan near the byline. At the second attempt, the full-back picks out Enciso in the centre, and the teenager simply nods in from close range!

50' Caicedo is lured into conceding a free-kick midway through his own half, and Arsenal take it quickly. However, a promising attack is then cut short by a raised flag from the assistant referee, indicating offside.

48' The hosts have already forced an early corner and are resembling the team that finished the first half in the ascendancy, rather than how they passively played the opening half-hour.

46' Arsenal kick off, and we are back under way at the Emirates!

While Arsenal have scored at least three times in all of their last six Premier League home matches, Brighton’s 27 top-flight games under De Zerbi have yielded 92 goals. Somehow, though, neither side has found the net so far today - surely that will change after the interval?

An often scrappy and disjointed first half largely dominated by Brighton ends goalless, although Arsenal finally shook off their slumbers in its final 10 minutes to truly test their visitors for the first time. Indeed, the Gunners have had more chances to score, but Odegaard's shooting has been unusually wayward and Jesus has failed to impose himself on Brighton's back four. The points' destiny remain in the balance at the break.

45' + 6' HALF-TIME: ARSENAL 0-0 BRIGHTON AND HOVE ALBION

45' + 5' After struggling to get a foothold for most of the first half, Arsenal are approaching the half-time whistle totally on top. Brighton are forced back for the first time.

45' + 3' Tierney tries to release Trossard down the left with a quick throw-in, and though the door is then shut on the substitute, Odegaard recovers the ball and drags a low shot off-target from the brink of Brighton's box.

45' + 1' CLOSE! In the first of at least five minutes of stoppage time, Gabriel wins a header at the back post following an Arsenal corner, then the ball breaks to Saka on the edge of the box, but his strike zips wide of the right-hand post by just a few inches!

44' After winning a battle of strength with Kiwior just outside the box, Ferguson turns and prods a shot well wide of the left-hand post.

43' Ramsdale holds onto the ball for some time, with few options open to him for a short pass. He then leathers a hopeful ball upfield, which fails to stick and gives Brighton possession straight back.

41' Jesus drops a cross over from the left, which beats Odegaard's leap but then falls for Saka. The England winger can't get a clean shot off, though, and his attempt at a volley is smothered by Brighton's alert defence.

39' The tempo has dipped a little now, but Brighton still look in control of proceedings. Their confidence has certainly not been shaken by such a setback last week against Everton.

37' On the left touchline, Mitoma skins White and then drives over a low cross towards the edge of the six-yard box. However, Enciso leans back and clips his shot well over the crossbar. That's a real let-off for the home side, who are struggling to cope with Brighton's mix of skill and industry today.

35' Trossard delivers a tantalising cross into the area from Arsenal's right-sided free-kick, but Xhaka can't make enough contact to steer a header from near the penalty spot towards goal.

P. Estupiñán

Yellow Card

34' After shoving Saka and then hoofing the ball away, Estupinan becomes the first player booked today.

31' OFF THE BAR! Trossard almost opens the scoring against his old club, as he is released into the area by Xhaka's short pass and then lets fly from near the penalty spot - a slight deflection helps it onto the top of the crossbar, and Brighton escape!

28' Though yet to score today, Brighton have found the net in 11 successive away games. However, they have kept just two clean sheets on the road all season.

26' A hopeful ball curled into the box by Mac Allister is ultimately cleared by the Arsenal defence, but they are working hard to keep their visitors at bay here.

24' Jesus breaks into the area, but his effort from a tight angle is turned behind for a corner by Steele's outstretched boot.

24' On the right byline, Saka wrestles the ball off Estupinan and then slips into a shooting position before rattling the base of the left-hand post. However, the ball had already rolled out of play by no more than a couple of inches.

22' Arsenal attempt to draw the sting from their opponents by keeping possession at the back for a while, but Brighton are closing them down diligently and will not withdraw from their front-foot style.

L. Trossard

Gabriel Martinelli

20' An early injury to Martinelli means that Trossard will have more than an hour to impress against his former club.

18' Following his earlier challenge with Caicedo, Martinelli has not been able to fully recover and it seems he'll be coming off. He sinks to the turf wearing a rather resigned expression.

16' Playing in typical De Zerbi style, Brighton have had 73 per cent of the ball so far, which leaves Arsenal with a far smaller share than they would unusually enjoy on home soil.

14' CLOSE! Former Brighton defender White fells Enciso by the touchline, conceding a free-kick midway through Arsenal's half. However, Brighton fail to make the most of it and are left a little exposed at the back. From 20 yards out, Odegaard then sends a low strike narrowly wide of the right-hand post!

12' SAVE! Just moments after Steele nearly gifts the ball to Arsenal on the edge of Brighton's box, the visitors streak up the other end and Ramsdale is forced to tip over a near-post drive by Enciso! It was a good effort from a tight angle on the left, but the Gunners' goalkeeper was equal to it!

10' Martinelli now returns to his feet and a staccato opening period resumes. Neither side has managed to assume any control as yet.

8' Caicedo is the second player lucky to escape a yellow card, with Martinelli this time being the victim. His rugged challenge on the Arsenal man leaves the latter in some pain and the game is halted as he is assessed by the medics.

7' First, Saka is blocked just as he draws back his boot to unleash a 20-yard strike, then Odegaard turns down the invitation to shoot on the follow-up and instead wanders into traffic.

5' Martinelli's inswinging corner is headed away at the near post, then the Brazilian winger topples Mitoma in trying to recover possession with an aggressive aerial challenge. He's fortunate to avoid a booking for that.

3' Odegaard has been checked and cleared to return to the pitch, with the action having already resumed to the backdrop of a buoyant home crowd.

1' Within seconds of kick-off, Estupinan's clearance from the left-back position strikes Odegaard flush in the face, and the Arsenal captain is left prone on the turf. The game is stopped while he receives treatment.

1' Brighton kick off, and we are under way in North London!

The teams are out on the pitch at the Emirates Stadium, and kick-off is now just moments away!

Teenage striker Ferguson starts for Brighton today, following his recent return to fitness; meaning former Arsenal forward Welbeck is relegated to a substitute role - one of four changes made by De Zerbi. Solly March has been sidelined by a thigh injury and joins Adam Webster on the visitors' growing absence list.

As Oleksandr Zinchenko has joined William Saliba in being all but ruled out for the rest of the season, Tierney starts at left-back for Arsenal today. Jorginho holds off the challenge of Partey to feature in midfield, while Martinelli starts on the left wing; leaving ex-Brighton man Trossard to make do with a place on the bench.

SUBS: Tom McGill, Cameron Peupion, Danny Welbeck, Andrew Moran, Yasin Ayari, Deniz Undav, Odeluga Offiah, Jan-Paul van Hecke, Facundo Buonanotte.

BRIGHTON AND HOVE ALBION (4-2-3-1): Jason Steele; Pascal Gross, Lewis Dunk, Levi Colwill, Pervis Estupinan; Billy Gilmour, Moises Caicedo; Julio Enciso, Alexis Mac Allister, Kaoru Mitoma; Evan Ferguson.

SUBS: Matt Turner, Fabio Vieira, Leandro Trossard, Reuell Walters, Rob Holding, Thomas Partey, Reiss Nelson, Eddie Nketiah, Emile Smith Rowe.

ARSENAL (4-3-3): Aaron Ramsdale; Ben White, Jakub Kiwior, Gabriel Magalhaes, Kieran Tierney; Granit Xhaka, Jorginho, Martin Odegaard; Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Martinelli.

Though they remain strong contenders for European qualification, Brighton were battered 5-1 by lowly Everton last time out; suffering their heaviest defeat of the season. Roberto De Zerbi's side now sit eighth in the Premier League standings with five fixtures remaining, but have as many as three games in hand on some of their rivals for a top-seven finish. While the Seagulls have just two wins to show from their last seven away matches, they have prevailed in three of their last four trips to the Emirates.

Premier League title challengers Arsenal seek a response to Manchester City's latest victory, as the top flight's second-placed side aim to pull within a point of the reigning champions. The Gunners at least assured a top-two finish by beating Newcastle United 2-0 last weekend, when they kept a first clean sheet in eight matches. Now returning to North London, Mikel Arteta's men have racked up 14 goals in their last four home fixtures before hosting Brighton today.

Hello and welcome to live coverage of today's Premier League clash between Arsenal and Brighton & Hove Albion at the Emirates Stadium!

Arsenal v Brighton & Hove Albion Live Commentary, 14/05/2023

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