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AARON RAMSDALE ADMITS FALTERING ARSENAL ‘NOT GOOD ENOUGH’ IN BRIGHTON DEFEAT

Aaron Ramsdale admits Arsenal were “not good enough” as they slipped to defeat at home to Brighton.

Enock Mwepu was the star of the show for the visitors, creating Leandro Trossard’s opener before his own fine strike doubled the lead. Martin Odegaard’s late consolation meant Brighton left with a deserved 2-1 win.

Arsenal were already reeling from defeat at Crystal Palace on Monday night and, with Kieran Tierney and Thomas Partey missing through injury, their small squad was exposed once more.

Gabriel Martinelli had a goal ruled out for offside but other than that Arsenal rarely threatened and they lost more ground in their hopes of returning to Champions League action.

Rivals Tottenham cantered to victory later on Saturday to move three points clear in fourth place with Ramsdale now targeting a return to form at Southampton next week.

“This was supposed to be the reaction game but it wasn’t,” he told Arsenal’s official website.

“We’ve lost and not managed to pick up any points and next week is even bigger.

“I think we just need to go out there and be free and play our game, you know?

“It’s a game of football and I think in the first half we were very tense and slow so we just need to go out there next week, trust what the manager and the coaching staff are saying and go and play our football, which we’ve done all season.

“It’s not good enough. Two games on the spin where the first 45 minutes has got away from us.

“You make it an uphill battle against any team in the Premier League if you’re losing at half-time.”

The victory was just a third league win of the calendar year for Brighton.

The Seagulls ended a run of six losses with a home draw to Norwich before taking all three points from the Emirates Stadium.

“I am so glad, we needed the three points after six loses and a draw,” said Mwepu.

“I think we have shown that we have the right mentality in the group to come to places like Arsenal and play like we did.

“We just want to continue in the final games like this, play well and win for the coach, who has shown a lot of confidence in us.

“We had a little joke in the dressing room before the game that I was going to score. I was delighted to take the chance, I hit it really well and it was wonderful to see it go into the net.”

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PATRICK VIEIRA’S CRYSTAL PALACE BEAT FORMER CLUB ARSENAL TO DENT TOP-FOUR HOPES

Crystal Palace blew Arsenal away with a comprehensive 3-0 Premier League victory at Selhurst Park to dent the visitors’ top-four hopes and continue their own momentum under boss Patrick Vieira.

Results over the weekend had seen the Gunners leapfrogged by rivals Tottenham in the race for Champions League qualification and they were unable to respond on a night to forget for Mikel Arteta’s men.

Jean-Philippe Mateta and Jordan Ayew put the Eagles in control after 24 minutes and Wilfried Zaha’s second-half penalty added deserved gloss to the score for the hosts, who extended their unbeaten run to seven matches in all competitions and moved up to ninth in the table.

Arsenal had dropped down to fifth after Spurs’ win over Newcastle on Sunday, but they were boosted by the return of Aaron Ramsdale in south London following a minor hip injury.

Conor Gallagher’s pressing nearly forced the Gunners goalkeeper into an early mistake before Gabriel let the ball roll out for a throw, which only further lifted a home crowd on a high with a trip to Wembley on the horizon.

Palace had held Manchester City to a goalless draw three weeks ago and they made life difficult for the away side in the opening exchanges.

Chances remained few and far between initially but the deadlock was broken with the first threatening attack after 16 minutes.

A deep free-kick by Gallagher found Joachim Andersen at the far post, who directed the ball across goal for Mateta to head in from close range for his sixth goal of the campaign.

The home supporters were still revelling in Mateta’s latest kick of the corner flag celebration when they were on their feet again eight minutes later.

Andersen produced a trademark crossfield pass from the back and Ayew was able to control the ball before he bent his shot around Ramsdale and into the bottom corner with aplomb.

It was a well-worked goal but Gabriel, who had looked nervy from the outset, made an error in trying and failing to intercept Andersen’s pass while Nuno Tavares – recalled due to Kieran Tierney’s injury – lost Ayew too easily.

The same duo had been guilty of not dealing with Gallagher’s free-kick for the opener and opportunities continued to come regularly for the hosts with Mateta denied by Ramsdale after good work by Jeffrey Schlupp and Zaha.

A late Gabriel header, which was easy for Vicente Guaita, was all Arsenal had to show for a below-par first 45 minutes and Arteta had seen enough with Gabriel Martinelli introduced in place of Tavares at the break.

Granit Xhaka went to left-back as a result and, while Bukayo Saka had a hopeful penalty appeal waved away at the beginning of the half, it was Palace who remained the most dangerous.

Arsenal did improve after the hour mark and Emile Smith Rowe should have done better when the ball dropped for him but his eight-yard effort was weak and down Guaita’s throat.

Martin Odegaard had an equally fine chance with 23 minutes left after being set up by one of substitute Eddie Nketiah’s first touches and yet the Norway international could only steer his shot wide.

Palace were in a crucial period now but Zaha, who had wanted to join Arsenal in the summer of 2019, put the game to bed in the 74th minute.

After he won the ball by the halfway line, the Ivory Coast attacker dribbled past Gabriel and ran at Ben White before Odegaard clipped his ankle in the area.

Referee Paul Tierney took a couple of seconds but pointed to the penalty spot and Zaha did the rest to fire home his 11th goal of the season.

There was still time for Marc Guehi – fresh from his England debut – to make a stunning block on the line to deny Smith Rowe before Nketiah curled an effort against the woodwork but it was Palace’s night with ex-Arsenal captain Vieira damaging his old club’s hopes of Champions League qualification.

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EPL TITLE RACE: LIVERPOOL BEAT ARSENAL TO CLOSE GAP ON CITY

Liverpool struck twice in eight second-half minutes to win at Arsenal and move to within a point of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League.

With City held to a goalless draw at Crystal Palace on Monday night, Liverpool took full advantage, winning their game in hand 2-0 as Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino scored the goals.

The pair have history against the Gunners – this was Jota’s seventh goal in as many appearances against Arsenal for Liverpool, while Firmino now has nine goals against them, his best return against a single opponent.

The meeting between City and Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium on April 10 will now go a huge way to deciding whether Pep Guardiola’s side will retain their crown or the Reds make it two titles in three years.

Arsenal remain favourites for a top-four finish despite losing here and they held their own until Jota broke the deadlock after 54 minutes.

Mikel Arteta conceded on the eve of the game that his team are not quite at the level of those at the top of the Premier League and being clinical in front of goal appears to be one of the contributing factors, if these 90 minutes were anything to go by.

Early Liverpool pressure saw Virgil Van Dijk force a low save out of Aaron Ramsdale with a free header from a corner.

With rain pouring down it was a blood and thunder contest but the first half was one of few chances, Gabriel Martinelli and Thomas Partey shining for the hosts.

Liverpool’s forwards were getting very little out of the Arsenal backline but Sadio Mane missed a presentable chance to open the scoring on the stroke of half-time.

He also had the ball in the net soon after the interval but the celebrations were cut short as he was correctly adjudged offside.

While Arsenal had created little, they had a short spell of dominance which should a yielded a better return, Alisson Becker making a fine save from Martin Odegaard after an errant Thiago Alcantara back-pass had been collected by Alexandre Lacazette.

Bukayo Saka forced Alisson into another save from the resulting corner, with Jurgen Klopp seeing enough to ready Mohamed Salah and Firmino.

Before they had a chance to enter the fray, however, Liverpool hit the front as Thiago’s slide-rule pass found Jota, who finished low past Ramsdale – the Arsenal goalkeeper no doubt disappointed to be beaten at his near post.

The two substitutions still took place, Jota one of those to be replaced immediately after breaking the deadlock, but Klopp’s decision was soon vindicated.

Firmino cut a ball across the box which ultimately saw Salah denied by a combination of Gabriel Magalhaes and Ben White but Liverpool kept the pressure on and Firmino’s smart finish from Andy Robertson’s cross doubled the lead.

Arsenal had no response to the double as Arteta introduced Emile Smith Rowe, Nicolas Pepe and Eddie Nketiah from the bench.

Martinelli nearly capped a fine personal display with a late goal but bent a shot just inches wide of Alisson’s post as Liverpool saw out the closing stages to move up on the shoulder of City.

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SMITH ROWE, SAKA ON TARGET AS ARSENAL EDGE BRENTFORD TO CLOSE IN ON TOP FOUR

Emile Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka scored second-half goals as Arsenal beat Brentford 2-1 and moved within one point of the top four.

The Gunners started quickly at Emirates Stadium, with Saka testing David Raya shortly before Alexandre Lacazette tapped in a Granit Xhaka cross, only for the goal to be ruled out for offside.

Smith Rowe eventually broke the deadlock with Arsenal’s 17th shot of the match, cutting in from the left and finding the bottom-right corner on 48 minutes.

Arsenal’s second goal came 11 minutes from time as Saka finished well off the far post.

Christian Norgaard got a goal back for Brentford in second-half stoppage time but it was too late to prevent Arsenal recording back-to-back victories.

The Gunners remain sixth but have at least two matches in hand on all of the teams above them.

Brentford stay 14th with 24 points, six points clear of the bottom three.

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AUBAMEYANG JOINS BARCELONA AS FREE AGENT

Gabon striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has completed his move to Barcelona on a free transfer after terminating his contract with English Premier League club Arsenal, the LaLiga club said yesterday.

Barcelona said Aubameyang would sign a contract until June 2025, with an option to agree departure on June 30, 2023. The Catalan club set his release clause at 100 million euros.

“Shortly the club will provide details of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s presentation as a first team player,” Barcelona’s website said, while on Twitter the club posted “It’s Auba time!”.

Aubameyang joined Arsenal from German club Borussia Dortmund in 2018 as former manager Arsene Wenger’s last signing.

He immediately became a fan favourite and went on to score 92 goals in 163 games.

His crowning moment was captaining Arsenal to their 14th FA Cup in 2020, scoring both goals in a 2-1 win over Chelsea, having scored a brace against Manchester City in the semi-final.

The 32-year-old striker was made permanent captain last season after signing a contract extension in 2020, but his Arsenal career began to turn sour and he left by mutual consent on Tuesday with 18 months remaining on his contract.

Despite being Arsenal’s highest earner, he has not played for the north London club since December after manager Mikel Arteta stripped him of the captaincy due to a disciplinary breach.

Aubameyang was also sent home early from the Africa Cup of Nations after the Gabonese Football Federation said cardiac lesions were found in tests conducted in Cameroon following a positive Covid-19 test.

His signing follows the arrival of winger Adama Traore on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers as Barcelona look to rebuild after the departure of Lionel Messi to Paris St Germain.

In a quest to strengthen their attacking options, Barcelona also signed Spanish forward Ferran Torres from Manchester City in the transfer window.

The club has also tried to offload French winger Ousmane Dembele, who has not played since their Super Cup defeat by Real Madrid earlier this month.

Barcelona are fifth in the LaLiga standings, 15 points behind leaders and rivals Real Madrid.

They are at home to Atletico Madrid this weekend.

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ARSENAL’S PABLO MARI JOINS UDINESE ON LOAN

Arsenal defender Pablo Mari has joined Udinese on loan for the rest of the season.

Spanish centre-half Mari, 28, has made just three appearances in all competitions for the Gunners this season and 22 in total.

Udinese said on their official website: “The Spanish defender arrives on loan from Arsenal until the end of the sporting season.

“A player who combines physical strength with technical qualities and great skill in aerial play, all precious characteristics that have brought him to the top European stages.”

Mari, who started out at Mallorca, was signed by Manchester City in 2016 and loaned out immediately to Girona. He has also had loan spells at NEC Breda and Deportivo La Coruna.

He joined Brazilian side Flamengo in a permanent deal in July 2019 before arriving at Arsenal, initially on loan, the following January and the Gunners paid a reported £7million to make the move permanent in July 2020.

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TEN-MAN ARSENAL HOLD LIVERPOOL TO DRAW IN CARABAO CUP SEMI-FINAL FIRST LEG

Ten-man Arsenal displayed all the resilience and fight which was missing in their weekend FA Cup exit as a goalless draw at Liverpool saw them carry the initiative into next week’s Carabao Cup semi-final second leg.

Granit Xhaka’s second red card in just 13 appearances this season handed Liverpool the numerical advantage for 71 minutes of this tie but they had been well below their best before that and they struggled even more against an organised 5-3-1 formation.

Arsenal actually performed better with a man less and Bukayo Saka’s thrusting runs down the right ensured their hosts always had to be aware of his threat.

The England midfielder also forced the best save of the night from Alisson Becker – remarkably making his League Cup debut after three-and-a-half-years – midway through the second half.

Liverpool had 78 per cent possession but only managed to force Aaron Ramsdale into one save – in added time – from the 17 attempts they had.

Jurgen Klopp had wanted a one-off game and that is effectively what he has now got, although following last week’s postponement of the original first leg in London because of Liverpool’s Covid outbreak the advantage is now with Mikel Arteta’s side.

Klopp had brought back his recognised first team, or as close as possible to it, for this tie but nevertheless the whole side had only 71 previous League Cup appearances for the club between them – and captain Jordan Henderson and James Milner accounted for 37 of those.

Arsenal, too, went strong after their defeat to Championship side Nottingham Forest on Sunday but still found themselves facing significant Liverpool dominance in the opening 25 minutes, not helped by the early loss to injury of Cedric Soares.

Ben White almost diverted Takumi Minamino’s cross into his own goal before the pressure finally told when Xhaka stretched to reach Andy Robertson’s searching crossfield ball and succeeded only in bringing down Diogo Jota with a waist-high challenge on the edge of the area.

Referee Michael Oliver had no hesitation in showing the Switzerland midfielder his third red card in the last 18 months.

Eddie Nketiah’s immediate withdrawal for Rob Holding saw Arsenal switch to damage-limitation mode with a back five but it gave them renewed purpose.

Willed on by an animated, arm-waving Arteta they more than comfortably kept their opponents, who struggled without top scorer Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane who are at the Africa Nations Cup, at bay.

Saka almost snatched the winner when he broke through once again only to be denied by the outstretched arm of Alisson but when the midfielder limped off nine minutes from time Arsenal settled for what they had, which was more than deserved.

Minamino, who had earlier flashed a shot across goal, blazed a half-volley over an open goal with the last real chance of the game.

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LIVERPOOL APPLY TO HAVE ARSENAL SEMI-FINAL FIRST LEG POSTPONED DUE TO COVID

Liverpool have requested the postponement of Thursday’s Carabao Cup semi-final first leg at Arsenal after further cases of coronavirus within the squad forced training to be cancelled on Tuesday.

The request was submitted after the latest round of testing found more cases within the first-team bubble, days after manager Jurgen Klopp and three players – Alisson Becker, Roberto Firmino and Joel Matip – were forced to miss Sunday’s 2-2 draw at Chelsea after testing positive.

A club statement said: “The Reds have formally requested to the EFL that the fixture is rescheduled after further suspected positive tests were registered among players and staff, allied to other factors impacting selection, including illness and injury.

“In response, the club halted preparations at the AXA Training Centre, meaning Tuesday’s first-team training session was cancelled.

“Among the considerations which led to today’s application to the EFL is the need for travelling supporters to be given as much notice as possible of any potential postponement.”

Liverpool were without a total of nine players for the match at Chelsea through illness and injury, and have subsequently lost Mohamed Salah, Naby Keita and Sadio Mane to Africa Cup of Nations duty.

The request for a postponement will also raise a question over Sunday’s FA Cup third-round tie at home to Shrewsbury.

The return leg of the semi-final at Anfield is scheduled for January 13th.

An EFL spokesperson said: “The League has this evening received a request from Liverpool to postpone Thursday’s Carabao Cup semi-final first leg versus Arsenal, which will now be considered in accordance with the competition rules as set out at the start of the season alongside information submitted by the Club.

“We will look to confirm the League’s position as soon as possible once the circumstances have been fully reviewed.”

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CARABAO CUP:EDDIE NKETIAH NETS HAT-TRICK AS ARSENAL THRASH SUNDERLAND 5-1 TO REACH SEMI-FINALS

A first senior hat-trick for Eddie Nketiah guided Arsenal to a comfortable victory over Sunderland and into the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup.

The back-up striker has reportedly turned down a new deal at the Emirates Stadium and is out of contract in the summer but shone in a 5-1 win which also saw Charlie Patino score on his first-team debut.

Nketiah opened the scoring before Nicolas Pepe doubled the lead, while the in-form Nathan Broadhead scored his sixth goal in six games to pull one back for the Black Cats before the break.

Any threat of a shock was extinguished within 13 minutes of the second half as Nketiah provided two smart finishes and Patino came off the bench to add the gloss with a late fifth.

Mikel Arteta’s side sit fourth in the Premier League and showed nine changes from Saturday’s win at Leeds as only Ben White and Martin Odegaard kept their places

Sunderland wanted a early penalty as Ross Stewart went down in the box under close attention from Mohamed Elneny – but there appeared to be no contact and the claims were waved away.

A stroke of luck almost put the hosts ahead as a Nuno Tavares cross was turned against his own crossbar by Eddie Embleton with Arsenal starting to knock at the door.

The deadlock would be broken soon after, Rob Holding’s header well-saved by Lee Burge, only for Nketiah to knee home the rebound from close range.

Pepe, the club-record signing given a rare start by Arteta, doubled the lead as he exchanged passes with Cedric Soares before seeing his strike deflected past the helpless Burge.

But if Arsenal thought they were coasting into the semi-finals, they were wrong.

Sunderland would hit them on the break, Broadhead coolly finishing a quick-fire counter from the visitors to half the arrears.

Bernd Leno was then forced into a low save to keep Arsenal ahead as the Sky Bet League One side ended the half on top – although they did lose Broadhead to injury before the interval.

Sunderland boss Lee Johnson had joked about wanting to face Arsenal in the quarter-final after seeing off QPR in the previous round – saying facing the Gunners or their north London rivals Tottenham would let them face “the really big guns” in a two-legged semi-final.

He dismissed the comment as “dad banter” on the eve of the tie but Arsenal showed – in the minutes following half-time – that even their much-changed side were more than enough to see off Johnson’s spirited visitors.

Two flicked finishes from Nketiah would settle the contest, the first from a Tavares cross and the second after some superb work from Pepe – who impressed on his return.

Embleton had hit the post in between but Sunderland were out of the tie as their vociferous following sang throughout.

Arteta was able to hand a first-team debut to highly-rated midfielder Patino for the final 10 minutes, the England Under-19 international replacing fellow academy graduate Emile Smith Rowe and sliding in to convert another Pepe assist to put the cherry on top of the cake for Arsenal.

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MARTINELLI AT THE DOUBLE AS ARSENAL BEAT LEEDS

Gabriel Martinelli scored his first Premier League brace as Arsenal eased to a 4-1 victory at Leeds United.

The Brazilian opened the scoring on 16 minutes at Elland Road, firing past Illan Meslier after Alexandre Lacazette had dispossessed Adam Forshaw in the area.

Martinelli then dinked the ball over Leeds’ advancing goalkeeper to double his and Arsenal’s tally in the 28th minute, before Bukayo Saka made it three with the help of a deflection three minutes before half-time.

An injury-hit Leeds, who lost Stuart Dallas during the first half, improved after the break and Raphinha gave a glimmer of hope to the home fans with a penalty after Ben White had fouled Joe Gelhardt.

However, substitute Emile Smith Rowe latched on to Martin Odegaard’s exquisite through-ball to finish and confirm Arsenal’s third straight league victory six minutes from time.

Arsenal stay fourth on 32 points, four ahead of West Ham United. Leeds, who had 15-year-old Archie Gray on the bench, are five points above the relegation zone in 16th.