After Brighton stunned Arsenal 3-0 at the Emirates in the second half with to goals from Julio Enciso, Deniz Undav, and Pervis Estupinan, Arsenal's waning prospects of winning the Premier League are all but finished.
As a result, Manchester City only need one more win from their remaining three games to retain their title, and if Mikel Arteta's team loses at Nottingham Forest on Saturday night, they may be crowned champions as soon as that evening.
Arteta acknowledged before the game that Arsenal needed to win, but after a solid first half performance, they fell short thanks to Enciso's 51st-minute header and late goals from Undav and Estupinan.
It maintains Roberto De Zerbi's team's tenuous chances of finishing in the top four when they defeated another opponent to move up to sixth place with still more games to play than Liverpool, Manchester United, and Newcastle.
Any chance Arsenal had of beating their championship rivals Manchester City at Goodison Park was gone even before Arteta announced his starting lineup with the score at 3-0 after 51 minutes.
Although it did not damper the mood at the Emirates, Brighton's visitors were not just in London to fill seats; they were also hoping to resume their European football hopes after a shocking home loss to Everton on Monday.
Stoppages in play hampered the opening exchanges, but referee Andrew Madley appeared eager to keep his options open. Gabriel Martinelli and Moises Caicedo were fortunate to escape punishment for poor challenges.
After seven minutes, Caicedo—who had a January transfer to Arsenal fall through—caught Martinelli in a less common right-back position, forcing the Brazilian to leave the game after just 19 minutes.
By this time, Martin Odegaard had sent a low shot wide and Enciso had tested Aaron Ramsdale with a strong near-post effort, but the match had stalled out after a stop-start start.
As Arsenal gradually found their rhythm, Jason Steele had to block a shot from Gabriel Jesus from a tight angle before substitute Leandro Trossard came close to beating his former team.
After 30 minutes, Granit Xhaka and Odegaard swapped passes to find Trossard, who had taken Martinelli's place. Trossard was booed by the visiting supporters, and his swerving shot from 16 yards narrowly missed the top of the crossbar.
blogpay
Total Comments: 0