2021/22 English Premier League
Matchday 32
Arsenal v Brighton & Hove Albion
Emirates Stadium
London, England
Saturday, 9 April 2022
Kick-off is at 16h00 CAT
Arsenal will look to put pressure on arch-rivals Tottenham when they entertain Brighton & Hove Albion in a Premier League clash at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday, April 9.
The Gunners have opened the door for their fierce neighbours to come out on top in the race for Champions League football after suffering a 3-0 derby defeat to Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Monday.
Mikel Arteta’s side had the chance to reclaim fourth place from Spurs, who routed Newcastle 5-1 on Sunday to climb above them in the table on goal difference.
However, the surprise loss to the Eagles has seen the north Londoners concede some of the advantage, although they do still have a game in hand on Antonio Conte’s team.
Arteta apologised to their fans for an “unacceptable” performance against Palace, admitting his players weren’t at the races in the first half.
“You have to be physical and run and then you earn the right to play. We were really inconsistent on the ball and that is unacceptable,” the Spaniard said.
“We were poor, especially in the first half. I apologise to our supporters. We didn’t have the presence today or the composure to dominate the situation so that is what I’m most annoyed with.”
The Seagulls continue to find the going tough in the new year, having picked up just two wins from 12 top-flight outings in 2022.
They did manage to halt an alarming six-match losing streak with the goalless draw at home to Norwich on the weekend, but remain winless since getting the better of Watford on February 12.
The south-coast club are 13th in the standings and have in all likelihood secured their league status for another season, but they’ve fallen off badly after an impressive start to proceedings.
Graham Potter chose to look at the positives after sharing the spoils with the Canaries, insisting the only thing missing from Albion’s performance was a goal.
“The performance was really good. We tried to attack and use our width with Tariq [Lamptey] and Solly [March] and they didn’t threaten too much,” Potter said.
“The bit we haven’t done well enough is put the ball into the net and that’s why we came away with one point instead of three.
“I’d rather have this feeling than the one I have had for the previous six games. At least we picked up something and our performance was strong.
“Our level had dropped but I can’t complain too much about today apart from the [scoring goals] bit so that is a positive for us.”
Head-to-Head (Last Five Premier League Meetings)
Matches – 5
Arsenal – 2
Brighton – 2
Draws – 1