Brighton 1-1 Arsenal: Gunners miss chance to go within three points of Liverpool in title race as Joao Pedro’s penalty cancels out Ethan Nwaneri’s opener

Further steps were made by Arsenal’s great new hope, but ground was lost on the runaway Premier League leader. To Mikel Arteta’s list of irritants we can now add the concession of a controversial penalty to questionable hamstrings and illnesses.

The highlight came an hour later, with Arsenal leading 1–0 and the feel-good vibes from their homegrown teenager, Ethan Nwaneri, whose goal had cut a bit of Liverpool’s lead.

But then it all revolved around a decision to award a penalty to William Saliba for an accidental clash of heads with Brighton’s Joao Pedro.

There was undoubtedly contact, but under a bouncing ball, in the middle of the crowd and with Pedro on course away from goal, it felt marginal. Arteta’s outstretched arms would indicate a similar instinct.

But the referee, Anthony Taylor, gave it, the VAR agreed and Pedro scored the kick. With that, the prospect of cutting Liverpool’s lead to two points, albeit with two games remaining, turned into the much bleaker prospect of falling five points behind and ending their run of four straight league wins.

For Arteta, who for the same reason had Martin Odegaard on the bench due to illness and Kai Havertz at home, an equally great disappointment will come from elements of the performance. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t particularly good either, extending to a rare ineffectiveness on set pieces, encapsulated in a corner in the first half as his three of his men conspired to beat each other in pursuit of a Declan Rice delivery.

The Gunners started the game without captain Martin Odegaard, who was ill and on the bench

They had been in the lead until Joao Pedro scored from the penalty spot after being knocked down by William Saliba

The rest was in the middle of the road. A bit bland. A lot of effort, not enough quality. They did the hardest part by breaking through Brighton’s press, but couldn’t find enough smart balls to create solid chances. The only time they did so from open play, Nwaneri scored, assisted in part by Rice and Mikel Merino, but also through poor goalkeeping.

That said, it was a great moment for the 17-year-old, who has a difficult task replacing Bukayo Saka but is handling it brilliantly. With such a strong performance against Brentford, the attack and determination with which he ignored some gold-plated team-mates to get the ball was a testament to his talent.

Unfortunately, he was also booked for overstaying on a corner and was fouled on half-time, so this is a work in progress, but his signs are good. Certainly better than Arsenal’s title prospects.

As for Brighton, this was their eighth game without a win, but of their six draws in that stretch, this one will taste better.

To be honest, the evening had an ominous tinge for Arsenal from the start. Pre-match concerns were about their creativity and pace, or rather what would be lost with Odegaard and Gabriel Martinelli on the bench. Despite the obvious benefit of Rice returning to the starting line-up, a midfield unit that placed him alongside Jorginho and Merino offered little in the way of attack. Or so the thinking went.

There was also the consideration of Thomas Partey, who was moved to right-back to cover Jurrien Timber’s suspension and instructed to provide support for Nwaneri. But if Julen Herzeler sensed a weakness on that flank worth exploring, based on how often his side looked for Simon Adingra on the left wing, it initially seemed misplaced.

This was evident from the opening goal, which was scored after 16 minutes. Along with Nwaneri, Rice was also a key element, using a quick shuffle on the touchline to suck in and wipe out both Igor Julio and Pervis Estupinan.

From there he freed Merino, who had space to lunge forward for Nwaneri to continue his surge. The finish, shot low and hard across goal, should have been saved by Bart Verbruggen, but took nothing from the academy boy – there was no sign of inhibition or indecision from the moment he took possession 40 yards from his goal . There was also no instinct for respect when Gabriel Jesus and Rice were available and asked for the pass. There’s a killer in his makeup.

Ethan Nwaneri scored his second Premier League goal to put Arsenal 1-0 after 14 minutes

Thomas Tuchel looked on as the new England manager attended his second match of the day in the top flight

Arsenal are now five points behind Liverpool, who also have two games in hand

While that was Arsenal’s clearest highlight of the half, there were moments when they lived dangerously.

Two of these involved Jorginho, who first botched a ball into Adingra’s path – the shot went awry – and then coughed up possession in midfield, before the same player scored again. Small fluctuations that went unpunished.

The biggest concern was the chances they failed to create. Playing through Brighton’s high, aggressive pressing worked to an extent, but too often the next ball lacked precision. The same went for those set pieces.

Interestingly, Brighton followed Monaco’s lead in leaving three men behind at half-time, forcing Arteta to refrain from flooding the area. Deterrent or not, Arsenal couldn’t get through. Nwaneri hit the near post straight after one ball, was shown a yellow card for delaying his next ball too long, and in between a Rice corner set up a three-way collision between Jesus, Merino and Partey. They’ve had better days.

For the second half, taking into account Nwaneri’s booking, Arteta swapped the winger for Martinelli, while Hurzeler brought on Georginio Rutter and Yankuba Minteh for Matt O’Riley and Brajan Gruda. With the extra impetus, that controversial penalty gave them the opportunity to level the score fifteen minutes into half-time.

There was undoubtedly a clash of heads, but it was also an accidental collision under a high ball in the middle of a frenzy. An unusual one. Regardless, Pedro sent David Raya the wrong way for his first goal in eight games and Arteta called Odegaard off his bench.

The desperation was clear, but the impact was limited. In fact, it was Brighton who came closest to victory, with Minteh breaking away from Riccardo Calafiori and racing home on the precise path to Nwaneri’s goal. He chose the same spot and was just a fraction away from landing the raid. Moments later, Yasin Ayari slipped a free-kick just outside the opposite post before Arsenal had two final spins in the game of set-piece roulette.

Both were taken from the same spot, to the right of the area, 150 feet. Both were beaten to the penalty spot by Rice. Both scored free headers, for Partey and Calafiori, and both efforts flew over the bar to take two points.