Arsenal could only manage a draw against Brighton on Sunday, effectively killing their hopes of a top-four finish.
At this stage, Arsenal could only finish in the Champions League places if Tottenham lost to Everton and the Gunners beat Burnley with a goal difference swing of eight. Realistically, all the eggs are in the Europa League basket now, thanks to another game of wasted opportunities at the Emirates Stadium.
Unai Emery’s side took the lead early on, and they should have cruised to victory after that. It took some excellent goalkeeping and defensive blocks to keep the score at 1-0, but after that, another individual error gifted Brighton an equaliser in the second half, and Arsenal wasted chances to retake the lead.
Let’s have a look at our individual player ratings for the match.
Front Three
Mesut Özil 6
It’s difficult to argue Özil didn’t try his hardest, as he got up and down the pitch as well as anyone, created the most chances of any Arsenal player and completed the most passes in the final third. It just wasn’t quite enough.
Alexandre Lacazette 7.5
Lacazette had a really good performance, despite failing to get on the scoresheet. He was lively and hard-working even when his teammates’ heads dropped, pushing Arsenal forward and taking people on.
The striker completed more dribbles than anyone else for the Gunners, made as many tackles and won as many aerial duels as any midfielder or forward. He also saw one shot headed off the line and a header well saved. His individual showing deserved a better result.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang 6
Aubameyang took his penalty really nicely, and like Lacazette he was willing to take people on. He also had the second-worst moment of the match, however, when he decided to scissor kick the ball so he could hit it with his right foot, rather than sweeping it home with his left.
The ball flew wide and drew sarcastic cheers from the Brighton fans every time it was shown on the replay. It was another crucial miss from a striker who has had too many of those this season, despite also scoring a very large number.