Arsenal's title hopes all but over after 3-0 loss to Brighton

Victory for Mikel Arteta's side would have given them a mathematical chance of taking the race to the wire, but they were never really in this match and have now dropped points from four of their last five matches

MIXED EMOTIONS: Brighton's Pervis Estupinan, covered by his teammates, celebrates after scoring his side's third goal during the Premier League game against Arsenal at Emirates Stadium. Pic: AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth

ARSENAL 0-3 BRIGHTON 

Some people in the crowd thought the title race was over before this match even started. It is now. Manchester City's win earlier in the afternoon left the defending champions needing just two wins to claim the Premier League and it made for a deflated atmosphere here in north London. Now City just need two points.

Victory for Mikel Arteta's side would have given them a mathematical chance of taking the race to the wire, but they were never really in this match and have now dropped points from five of their last seven matches.

Julio Incisco's controversial second half strike set up Roberto De Zerbi's men for a deserved win and takes them up to sixth and closer to almost certain European qualification and a best ever season in the top flight. Deniz Undav added a classy second late on and Pervis Estupinan an even later third. The scoreline did not flatter them. Brighton's wide-eyed manager celebrated by running down the touchline like a tribute act to Jose Mourinho but he clearly knows what he is doing in his own right.

Arsenal supporters and any right-minded neutral will be wondering if referee Andrew Madley gets many or any more Premier League matches as he looked out of his depth from start to finish, but that should not detract from the fact the best team won.

Arsenal defender Jakub Kiwior was pinned to the floor in agony after having his ankle trodden on before Incisco turned in Brighton's 51st minute opener and was receiving treatment for many minutes after VAR allowed the goal to stand.

Arsenal were desperately chasing the game in the 86th minute when a defensive error gifted substitute Undav the chance to lob Aaron Ramsdale and further ruin the Arsenal goalkeeper's birthday.

And the ground was almost empty when, six minutes into time added on at the end, Ramsdale parried a shot into the path of Estupinan to score a remarkable third. What a party in the spring sunshine for the Brighton fans as they finished the match with rounds of 'OLE!'

Those Arsenal fans who stayed until the bitter end tried to raise a cheer of support but it rang hollow.

Not an inch was given in the early exchanges with a few tasty challenges resulting in lengthy delays as Gabriel Martinelli took out Kaoru Mitoma and was then the victim of a 'revenge' challenge by Moises Caicedo.

They both looked like bookable offences but referee Madley, surprisingly, decided to let them both go. It seemed naïve at best but the man in black had set the precedent for what the players might be able to get away with.

And when Martinelli hobbled out of the match with just 20 minutes gone, the severity of Caicedo's challenge became even more apparent. His replacement out on the left wing was Leandro Trossard, the Belgian who left Brighton under a cloud in January.

He received no end of abuse from the Brighton fans on his side on the pitch but so nearly silenced them when he ran at goal and had a 30th minute shot which glanced off the cross bar.

Madley finally showed a yellow card, after a series of more heavy Brighton challenges, when he thought Estupinan had gone too far bringing down Bukayo Saka. In real time it did not even look like a free-kick. Not a great day for the ref. One of his linesmen then flagged for an offside from a throw-in – it really was amateur hour in the Premier League.

But it did not hide the fact Brighton were also playing very well – with and without the ball - and had Arsenal largely on the back foot, an unusual pattern of play for Arteta's team at home this season.

That said, they finished the first half camped in the Brighton half and created good chances for Saka and Martin Odegaard but neither of the Arsenal men managed to find the target.

Arsenal looked like continuing the trend after the break, only to concede an opening goal from which they never really recovered.

Arsenal: Ramsdale 6, White 5, Kiwior 5, Gabriel 5, Tierney 6, Odegaard 6 (Smith Rowe 77), Jorginho 5 (Partey 60), Xhaka 5 (Nelson 60), Saka 6, Jesus 5 (Nketiah 77), Martinelli 6 (Trossard 20). 

Substitutes: Turner, Holding, Vieira, Walters.

Brighton: Steele 6, Gross 6, Colwill 8, Dunk 6, Estupinan 7, Caicedo 6, Gilmour 6 (Welbeck 60), Enciso 9 (Undav 82), Mac Allister 7, Mitoma 7, Ferguson 6 (Buonanotte 77). 

Substitutes: McGill, Ayari, van Hecke, Peupion, Offiah, Moran.

Referee: Andrew Madley 2. 

Att: 60,139.