London, Jan 5: Joao Pedro scored a second-half penalty to dent Arsenal’s title hopes as the Gunners were held to a draw by Brighton.
Arsenal went ahead in the 16th minute through Ethan Nwaneri, who was starting just his second match in the Premier League.
The 17-year-old was involved in a clever move with Mikel Merino and Declan Rice before firing a shot that squirmed past goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen and found the far corner.
Arsenal dominated as they looked to build a bigger lead, and they were to pay for not taking their chances when Pedro struck from the spot just after the hour.
The penalty was awarded for an unusual incident when Pedro flicked the ball up and William Saliba, in attempting to nod it away, made contact with the head of the Brazilian forward who went to ground.
The foul was checked and confirmed by the video assistant referee, who deemed there was sufficient contact for a penalty and Pedro then sent David Raya the wrong way to level the scores.
It could have got worse for Arsenal after that, with Brighton substitute Yankuba Minteh curling wide from inside the area when well placed.The result leaves Arsenal five points behind leaders Liverpool with Mikel Arteta’s side having played two games more.
Arsenal manager Arteta had to rotate his squad, with Kai Havertz missing through illness and captain Martin Odegaard also suffering and only well enough for substitute duty.
The Gunners are already trying to deal with the loss of Bukayo Saka who is out of action with a serious hamstring injury, yet they had by far the better of the opening stages of this game.
The main criticism will be that despite that superiority, Arteta’s side struggled to create clear-cut chances.
Arteta has turned to teenager Nwaneri as he looks to fill the gap left by Saka’s absence, and it is a big challenge for a player so young.
The youngster was sharp and trusted by his team-mates in possession on the south coast but took some unnecessary risks, the sort that will be part of his journey as he progresses into a senior player and gains more experience.
Nwaneri’s goal made him the first player to score more than one goal in the Premier League for Arsenal before their 18th birthday.
Arteta was pleased with the showing from the youngster, but Nwaneri was withdrawn at half-time with what the manager described as “muscular issues” and it remains to be seen when he can play again.
The team’s failure to complete their job will be a concern, and Arsenal are in danger of slipping out of the title race if they are unable to apply pressure on Liverpool, whose lead feels increasingly comfortable on days like this.
Brighton’s positive start to the season had started to slip away from them and they came into this match without a win in their past seven Premier League games.
The Seagulls were second best for large parts of the first half but their fortunes changed after the break.
Head coach Fabian Hurzeler introduced Georginio Rutter and Minteh and the two attackers started to cause the Arsenal backline problems.
Their presence meant there was more space for the dangerous Pedro and it was his piece of skill, and Saliba’s mistimed nod of the head, that resulted in the all-important penalty. (Agencies)
