Arsenal were held to a disappointing draw in Brighton on Boxing Day, despite taking an early lead through Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Aubameyang could’ve had three goals in the first half, forcing a couple of great saves from Brighton goalkeeper Mathew Ryan as well as the effort he did score. However, Arsenal’s opponents came back into the match thanks to a long-ball and an individual error, and then Unai Emery’s early substitutions backfired on him.
Emery took off Mesut Özil at half-time to change formation, but Brighton made just as many chances after the break, whilst Arsenal had just one shot to their six in the opening period. That one shot came from Alexandre Lacazette, and after he went off too the team didn’t have any chances at all.
The only positive is that Matteo Guendouzi and Lucas Torreira came through without yellow cards, and neither of them will be suspended for the match against Liverpool at Anfield.
Let’s have a look at our individual player ratings.
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Mesut Özil 6.5
Özil had a good half, which is what made it so bizarre that he was the player to come off over the break. Emery said afterwards that it was a tactical decision to allow the team to change formation, rather than an issue with personnel. It clearly didn’t work, with Arsenal failing to create a single shot on target without Özil, after four in the first half.
That said, it wasn’t Özil’s best game either. Though what he did was generally positive, he wasn’t involved as much as he’d want to be.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang 7.5
Aubameyang had a really good first half, scoring the opening goal of the game and putting two more great efforts on target, which were both well saved. On another day, either his half-volleyed lob or his low shot one-on-one goes in, and Arsenal breeze to victory.
Unfortunately, Aubameyang only managed to score one of those chances, and then he disappeared after Özil and Lacazette left the pitch. He had 31 touches in the first half, and just 13 in the second.
Alexandre Lacazette 7
As with Özil, it was very strange to see Lacazette come off so early. The striker set up Arsenal’s only goal of the game, and he had the team’s one shot of the second half, despite playing just 17 minutes of it.
The Frenchman was also very good in tight spaces, completing all of his three dribbles (more than anyone else on the pitch) and linking up well with teammates. He’ll be a bit disappointed not to have scored for another game though.
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