A trip to Brighton, to jolly old Sussex by the sea. The Amex stadium is in Falmer, in the middle of the facilities of the University of Sussex (where, once upon a time, my old University, including me, used to play an annual two day cricket match, with a night of revelry in Brighton between). As Ned’s excellent preview told, this stadium was built after a long history. From the visiting fans’ perspective, Brighton Council was led by the Greens, and it also had a Green MP. This led to a determination that all fans arriving at the ground should travel by public transport. They backed this up by putting their money where their mouth was. There is a railway station at the ground, and a match ticket gives you a free ride in from either Brighton or Lewes stations. They have also set up two Park & Ride stops. We checked out one of these, conveniently placed at the end of the A23 dual carriageway. It was very well organised, easy to use, free and about a 10 minute ride from the ground. Bravo.
So after arriving at the ground we checked out their footy scran. No Harvey’s bitter unfortunately (a crime in this part of the world) but a very acceptable pie and a hot dog, both at prices well below that of the Emirates. Into the ground, about which I have to disagree with TTG. It is, as Nessa would have said, tidy. It’s also a joy for visiting fans as we get the whole of the South stand behind the goal (unfortunately this is planned to change in the 2026/27 season to a set up more akin to ours, where the visiting fans are around the corner flag).
The team caused some consternation.
Raya,
Partey, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori,
Jorginho, Rice, Merino,
Nwaneri, Trossard, Jesus.
Subs: Neto, Tierney, Lewis-Skelly, Zinchenko, Kiwior, Odegaard, Kabia, Butler-Oyedeji, Martinelli.
Some flames, a chorus of Sussex by the sea and we were off. And it wasn’t long before a delightful chip forward by Merino found Nwaneri in space. He drove into the penalty area and forced a shot past the Brighton goalie into the net. That boy does love a goal.
However that was the best of Nwaneri and for the rest of the half he kept giving the ball away. He was hooked at halftime, with Arteta later saying he had picked up a muscular injury. And for the rest of the half we didn’t really create a chance. We were smothered by the Brighton press and indeed our own errors gave Brighton several good chances.
Nwaneri was booked for taking too long over a corner. All around me the Arsenal faithful were asking “Why do we do this?” It gets the home crowd into it, it puts pressure on us and it invites the ref to brandish a yellow card. Of the five yellows collected by Jurien Timber which led to his suspension for this game, two were for time wasting at throw ins. Now, we can argue about the refs but how about we just get on with the game?
The second half began and we went from bad to worse. On the hour, Merino had a great chance from a clever free kick from Rice which he completely miskicked. Brighton then immediately went up the other end via a long ball, there was a scrum in the box and Saliba caught someone on the head and Taylor gave a penalty.
Taylor, the Brighton manager and VAR were totally convinced it was a penalty. Arteta and the entire MOTD punditry team were convinced it was not. Pedro stuck it away and it was 1-1.
Now I am, frankly, bored with discussions about referees and an agenda against us. Because for the whole of the second half we were, quite simply, just not good enough to win this game. We brought on Ødegaard and Martinelli. Neither performed well. The whole team seemed to be infected with lethargy. We gave the ball away and lost most 50/50s. We gave up on chasing balls. We were indecisive, constantly turning backwards when there was green grass in front of us. We totally lost creativity. Set pieces looked to be our best chances, but Brighton left three up at corners, which emptied the box of players and left us unable create our normal chaos theory. That said, a free kick late in the game left Partey completely unmarked, eight yards out. He ballooned his header over the bar.
Was this due to injuries? Or maybe the lingering effects of a flu bug in the camp? Or perhaps the fact that Brighton had two additional days rest? Who knows? But it was palpable.
This a game to be long forgotten. TTG is calling for reinforcements. It is difficult not to agree.
The rain/sleet swept in as we entered the second half. At the end of the game it was only a short walk to the buses. Both sets of fans had stayed until the end, hopeful of a late winner (which, to be honest, looked more likely to come from Brighton). That meant a 40 minute wait to get on the bus, all in the icy cold, pouring sleet. This was not my most enjoyable afternoon following The Arsenal.
We finally got to our car and were quickly away. We had planned a curry on the way home but neither of us were in the mood and the weather forecast suggested a difficult journey home. So it proved as proper snow began five miles north of Brighton and stayed with of most of the way home.
So we now have a cup semi final against a resurgent Newcastle on Tuesday and then an FA Cup third round against a not so resurgent Manchester United. Our season is on the line here.
Finally, please, accept the fact that we were not robbed. We just weren’t good enough to win the game.
I had written the following on the last blog but the door closed on me. Forgive me for carrying it over to here. Now, off to read C100’s piece1
We have Saka, MLS and Nwaneri starting at Arsenal; ESR, Nelson and Iwobi starting at Fulham; Willock starting at Newcastle and Hutchison starting at Ipswich in this season (and from earlier generations Fabianski and Martinez at Hammers and Villa). Anyone I’ve missed?
While I suspect the 115ers and Chel$ki may be able to claim a higher level of success, our academy isn’t doing badly. I have to admit that I’d only heard of one of the two youngsters on the bench yesterday and can’t recall having seen either play – anyone else?
@52 SP the primary target last window was Sesko, perhaps a case of not visiting Aldi after he refused to fly off the shelf rather than forgetting about adding some up-front spice.
Wow, I felt a chill run through me just reading about your driving and spectating pleasures there, C100.
Absent a front four that might have started for every other team in the League except Liverpool on the day, I thought our first half performance was good – not perfect – but we deserved to go in ahead at half time (despite Jorginho’s slip up).
In the second half Brighton were the better team but failed to take a couple of excellent chances. Merino and Partey’s chances should both have been buried though.
1-0 to Arsenal if that once in a lifetime penalty decision isn’t given. We’ll never see its like again (or I’ll eat my hat – and you know how much I value my bunnet).
With Nwaneri added to the injured pile and Havertz and Odegaard still lurgi struck, the squad will be stretched to the limit in midweek. Timber’s return looks like the only positive.
When the going gets tough………..
Cheers Countryman, good stuff as always. The info about travelling to the stadium was an interesting sidebar to the game, and perhaps something we need more of.
Personally, I’ve never understood the either/or brigade when it comes to playing badly and getting shafted by referees. Why on earth can’t both things happen on the same day?
I didn’t think we played well in the second half. The first was fine, and we had a few good positions that we failed to convert into chances which could have put us two up, which I think would have won us the game.
However, we then got done by VAR. It is black and white…
Pedro heads the ball, Saliba goes for it, it hits Saliba on the head and he follows through and gets a little touch on Pedro, who acts like he has been shot. Taylor gives a penalty.
I’ve never seen a penalty given for a head clash like that, but social media is full of people making the point that if a player going for a tackle had missed the ball and got the man then it would be a foul, which is right.
So, that part of it was an unusual decision from Taylor but I can see his justification.
Where there is no justification is when VAR checked it. They did not take the time or slow it down to see the contact Saliba made. They missed it. With a slide tackle, if the ref gave a penalty and then VAR saw the defender had got the ball first, then they would send the ref to the monitor to change the decision. They should have done it yesterday but they failed to see the contact.
So, let’s be clear. Saliba got the ball, and under the rules of football his offence was not a penalty. VAR went too fast, did not use all the angles and slow-motion available to them, and failed to see the contact. So, they cleared an incorrect decision.
I have seen lots of people saying it should be a penalty, but I have not seen a single person saying it should be a penalty whilst also acknowledging that Saliba got the ball before he touched Pedro. Loads of people have missed it. But that is exactly what VAR is for and they got it wrong. We don’t need to have played well for that to be true.
How exactly is scoring one legitimate goal and conceding no legitimate goals not being good enough to win the game?
We were tired yesterday. We struggled in the second half. Odegaard was indicitive; the maestro looked like a phantom. On tough days like this you need a bit of luck. Sure, you can argue that we didn’t play well enough to win 5-0, but how does that justify a demonstrably wrong decision that gifted the opposition a goal on a day that our beleagured team needed to win a scrappy 1-0, and then get out of dodge to lick our wounds?
All title challenging sides need to pick up points on bad days at the office. With a bug in the camp and a lot of injuries it is easy to see why we faded in the second half. I’d love us to be fantastic in every game all season but it is impossible.
So, on days when we aren’t at our best, I’d like fair and evenhanded refereeing that doesn’t cost us points. I’m utterly bemused by the argument that being unhappy about incorrect refereeing decisions is unacceptable unless your team played well.
GSD@3. I didn’t say it was unacceptable. I said it was boring. I’m bored silly of people banging on about referees.
Control the controllables.
I’m with those who say we need reinforcements, although the market looks tough. We’ve got a lot of matches to play before the end of January, so the sooner the better, but we’ve obviously got summer targets and we don’t need to get in anyone who we wouldn’t be happy to buy in the summer too. Not an easy task.
For me though, the biggest problem in the team is not the forward line, it is the midfield. Rice, Partey and Odegaard has been good at times. Perhaps Jorgi can replace Partey and it still looks okay. But any other changes leave us unbalanced.
Rice as an 8 is a decent player, whereas Rice as a 6 is world class. I hope Merino has a better second half of the season but he hasn’t settled yet. Yesterday, there was a Brighton move where they played a pass into the centre of our final third and I shouted “where’s Rice?!” at the TV. He should have intercepted it. That is his bread and butter, but he hadn’t got back after a run where he was our furthest forward player. When he roams all over the place and doesn’t get back to screen the back four then no-one else does it. We look vulnerable.
The most vital long-term position we need to address is midfield. Rice at 6, Odegaard at right 8/10 and someone else to make up the trio. At the moment, it looks seriously unbalanced.
Also, Ben White cannot get back fast enough. We’ve missed him so much. Partey at right-back screws the midfield even more.
Countryman.
There has been a lot of opinion about this and many people are unhappy about Gooners talking about referees. My point was not aimed specifically at you, as many more people have been making similar points (people whose opinion carries far less weight with me than yours).
Whether you use the word ‘unacceptable’ or ‘boring’ or any other negative word, I would suggest that the problem is the bad refereeing decision. When even Gooners are saying that we should just quietly accept incorrect decisions because they happen so regularly that it is boring to talk about them… well, I think that shows a very deep problem indeed.
In as far as ‘control the controllables’ goes, I agree with the principle.
I don’t think that a bug in the team, injuries, or the fixture list are controllable though. So, when they go against us and we put in a leggy performance, it seems reductive to me to argue that our poor performance was down to us not controlling the controllables.
I understand your boredom with silly people banging on about referees. As a bloke who’s been writing a series of pieces about referees… I guess that’s me!
I certainly agree that it is a shame that referees’ performances leave so much to bang on about.
The issue yesterday was that VAR missed a vital contact because they cleared the incident too quickly without looking at the available slow-motion replays. Whilst that may not be an exciting topic, it is an important one, and these mistakes won’t stop when fans critiscise each other for pointing them out.
Again, the problem is the referees, not the people who point the problem out.
Here’s another question. Did Brighton do enough to get a draw?
Let’s imagine the roles were reversed and Arsenal went 1-0 down to a goal on 15 minutes. We then played exactly as Brighton did, creating the same chances, except we had a penalty appeal controversially denied, and lost the game 1-0.
I can guarantee the same people who argue that we didn’t deserve to win yesterday would be saying that we can’t go on about a penalty that wasn’t given when we didn’t do enough to get back in the game and earn a draw (or even a win).
So why is it that today they are saying Arsenal didn’t deserve a win, instead of saying Brighton didn’t deserve an equaliser?
Whatever way the luck of the decision goes, the narrative goes against Arsenal, and I just do not understand that.
In my opinion, the argument that Brighton did not play well enough from 1-0 down to earn a draw is much stronger than the argument that Arsenal from 1-0 up did not play well enough to hold on for a win.
Either way, the ref decided it and it was a demonstrably wrong decision.
@8 Home and away vs Brighton, the ref decided it. Quite difficult not to be a little miffed actually.
Le Grove today is worth a read:
PGMOL ‘NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE’ REFFING DESTROYS TITLE RACE
C100
Thanks for your usual excellent away match report with colour and atmosphere. My one experience of the Amex was with 15 8 year-old boys and and a very disgruntled six year old grandson who said it was too noisy and then fell asleep ( he’s a Gooner now!) . So I may have been prejudiced !
I agree re the performance yesterday but I think there are genuine excuses for it . We have to protect players more by playing less frequently or games will be played by shadow sides at peak periods like Christmas. A tough gig like Brentford on NYD really took it out of us and handed Brighton a big advantage. They were the better side after the break because we had half a side out and were knackered but you are spot on about time-wasting . I think it is a piece of brinkmanship Jover had introduced into our game as we always go this . Last season Tomi was sent off for it after Havertz had wasted most of the time !
We really need more forward variety . A few years ago we prevaricated over signing Sociedad’s no 9 in January and stuck with Lacazette who contributed one goal afterwards . That no 9 was a guy called Isak . I wonder where he is now ?
My final point is that Fabian Hurzeler is a grade A arsehole .
An honest assessment of what turned into a miserable day, C100. As the game went on, we looked increasingly weary in body and mind. Not for the first time this season, we went in at half-time 1-0 up when we could have had a more comfortable cushion to ride out the second half. Brighton’s non-penalty xG was 0.8, so a 1-0 lead never left much margin for error or a freak refereeing decision. As for the penalty, it is not going to get unawarded, so we move on.
BtM@1: There is also Issac Hayden, who has played 118 PL games for the Barcodes to add to your list, and Sebastian Larsson (282 PL games, only three for us) from an earlier generation. Ben Sheaf may become another. We sold him to Coventry three years ago after two first-team appearances for us. Now 26, he has become club captain and a bit of a star DM there. Leeds look set to buy him, so he may be playing in the Premiership next season.
CER made a good point in the previous drinks about the factory metaphor not being accurate for the Academy. It is more akin to an artisanal workshop. My earlier musing about whether it could be used to cover ad-hoc first-team absences was by way of wondering if there was a way to develop custom pieces for its main patron, the club’s first team, that did not involve a binary choice between being a generational talent or being developed for sale. Any such youngster would have to be blooded in senior football while still being integrated into first-team training. That contradiction is not easy to resolve absent B teams being allowed in English football.
Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.
I have just checked my last five match reports in this august organ.
Brighton
Fulham
Chelsea
Manchester City
Brighton
All draws. I am a draw Jonah.
Sending my pet whale towards you now, C100.
You must have been at Anfield incognito, C100, salvaging something for us from the weekend.
A very fair account of a disappointing result, C100. We made few chances throughout the match but fluffed the ones we did make but Nwaneri scored a lovely goal. It was sad to see him subbed at half time and to hear that he might have sustained a serious injury but even sadder to see our lethargy in the second half in which, not to put too fine a point on it, we were once again ‘done’ by VAR. You’ll never see another penalty for a clash of heads in the box again.
Taylor simply gave what he thought he saw but Paul Tierney and Dan Cook in Stockley Park were as negligent as the fat muppet who had failed to draw the offside lines to overturn a decision that wrongly disallowed a goal two seasons ago and was sacked for his negligence. They pronounced confirmation of Taylor’s decision within seconds which stands in stark contrast to prolonged analyses of potential handballs cf De Light tonight and the 4 minutes they can take scouring a move to see of there was handball or offside in the build up to a goal. In making their decision within seconds, they clearly failed to examine the footage from multiple angles that we have all now seen and clearly showed that Saliba headed the ball before contact was made with the Shakespearean actor who was in death throws as a result of the contact but revived instantly he got the decision for which he was acting seriously injured.
I had hoped that a retraction or even another dismissal for criminal negligence would be applied here but PGMOL are doubling down, possibly because of the unanimous disagreement of all three pundits on MotD last night. PGMOL have released a statement supporting the decision on ‘X’, quoted on football365:
“The referee’s call of penalty for a foul by Saliba on João Pedro was checked and confirmed by VAR, who deemed there was sufficient contact for a penalty,”
I think that is utterly pathetic. There is no hope for these people. Tomorrow and over the next few days, we will no doubt be gaslit by Gallagher and similar apologists talking about contact in the box, making no mention of Saliba heading the ball and the number of times such head contact occurs at corners without a penalty being awarded.
Pathetic!
Thanks C100, I had a similar run of reports a while back, you just need a lucky win via a deflected backside in off the post type goal and you’ll have that whale off your back 🙂
It was however a very good and honest report on a tough game, and your comment that we struggled 2nd half in a game best forgotten was certainly fair enough.
I am more likely to remember the Palace and Brentford away games than this one and all in all seven from nine from those three away is not so bad, especially with Manure actually doing us a favour for a change.
Thanks C100 for you match review. Your tone is unusually downbeat as most of your away days are full,of enjoyment and optimism. Yes, we allowed the match to run away from us -it was a somewhat makeshift team even though the players are all of a good standard. They seemed devoid of energy either though recovering from the lurgy that’s running through the squad or just plain in the red zone. A draw away at Brighton is not a disaster by any means and with half the season still go, everything is still to play for.
What is apparent however the squad needs some urgent reinforcements. We may well be down to just 3 forwards for the next matches which puts even more pressure on those 3 and praying no more injuries are incurred. This really needs to be touted de suite and not leaving it until several of these matches have paased by at the 3nd of the month. It may well be too difficult in januaty to entice any club to part with our prospective summer recruitment therefore to take a punt on a loan or two just to provide cover / give a boost may be better than nothing at all. Quite a conundrum for the club to resolve in the minimum of time.
Liverpool burnt what looked like an easy home game while we gained a point from what is a much harder game – nb Brighton have caused Liverpool serious problems in tg3 rec3n5 past at the Amex.
Liverpool were imo , second best by some distance and while there was logic about the penalty and it would be stonewall against us, I very much doubt it would have been awarded against Liverpool especially in front of the Kop . So we arguably had a decent weekend although Forest have yet to play . Our rivals drew games that we have recently won ( home to MU, away to Palace)
But we do need a lift in terms of personnel. Two years ago we signed Trossard, Jorginho and Kiwior in January . Can we find a Trossard type deal this window and find a reliable fit defender ?
Big selection conundrum for Arteta for Tuesday’s league cup first-leg against the Barcodes. Does he go for it? Or give as many tired legs time to recover as he can?
It’s a semi final so I think he will go for it as much as he can. Next game is the FA Cup 3rd round a whole 5 days later, over 100 hours break is luxury these days!
Obviously the forwards are the risk as we don’t have many but Kai and Sterling should be back soon.
Spot on match report, C100. I guess when you do as many away trips as you go, you’re bound to have these runs occasionally. Form is temporary. Class is permanent.
As everyone has commented, I thought we were in control in the first half and managing the energy levels, allowing the opposition to blow themselves out. Turned out that was as good as it got and we were running on fumes in the second half. We had 2 days fewer rest than everyone else I suppose and also had the Middlesex Plague affecting Havertz and quite possibly Odegaard, given his performance. The rest issue is not my usual complaint against the unfairness of the universe, though. I’m trying to maintain perspective. We had two days more rest than everyone else against Brentford. 4 points out of 6 for 2 difficult away games isn’t too bad a return.
On to Newcastle. We’re going to gave you up the levels on Tuesday. They do have a couple banned for that one, including the St James Park “He’s behind you” Forearm Smash Batterer, so that does at least help. At this point though we desperately need some returnees, better performances from midfield and forwards. I can’t see where a purchase of new blood will come from mid season and there is always the dreaded acclimatisation period in any case. We need to dig in.
I don’t believe that there is any refereeing conspiracy against us – the problem is that the current group of referees is simply not good enough and the main reason for that is that they have no real “feel” for the game.
Anybody can learn the laws of the game but understanding how to apply them is a different matter and that is what is missing from most of these boys with the whistle and the video screen.
As a side issue, the standard of refereeing in the Australian men’s A-League is also pretty woeful. To help improve it a new Head of Referees was appointed just before the end of last year – Jon Moss, remember him? Ha ha ha. Good luck with that.
UTA.
The definition of “Jobs for the boys”, NG.
>>>>>>>