Arsenal Failed To Win, Mikel Arteta Disappointed

Arsenal winger Ethan Nwaneri celebrated a goal in the match which ended in a 1-1 draw against Brighton and Hove Albion. (X/@Arsenal)

JAKARTA - Arsenal failed to take advantage of their chances of defeating Brighton and Hove Albion in the English Premier League match. In a duel at the American Express Community Stadium, Sunday, January 5, 2025 in the morning WIB, Arsenal were only able to draw 1-1 which disappointed manager Mikel Arteta.

Arsenal's winning record has stalled. When they visited Brighton's headquarters, they actually had the opportunity to extend their winning record.

Arsenal also took the lead first. But Brighton managed to equalize the score from the penalty spot. The draw ended the Gunners' streak of three wins.

The additional one point did not change Arsenal's position in second place with 40 points in the standings. However, Arsenal have not managed to close the distance between points and the leaders of the Liverpool standings. The reason is, Liverpool, who have two games, are still five points ahead.

Meanwhile, Brighton, who returned to draw for the fourth time, is still stuck in the middle board. They are ranked 10th with 28 points.

"We certainly wanted to win, but we failed to do so. We were very disappointed with the penalty decision. I've never seen anything like that in my life. [William] Saliba came into contact with the ball. I don't think it was a penalty," Arteta said in response to the match as quoted by reuters.com.

"In the second half, we did not fully control the match so we couldn't create many chances. But in terms of defense, we were also quite good and didn't concede much," he said.

Meanwhile, defender Riccardo Calafori said the draw was still not too detrimental. But he hopes the team will refocus and win the next game.

"That result is not a big loss. But we have to keep going and try to win the game. This is not the time for us to think too much about the league title. We just need to focus on ourselves," Calafiori said.

In that match, Arsenal actually started well. Their offensive game gave positive results when 17-year-old Ethan Nwaneri broke the deadlock by scoring a goal in the 16th minute. Arsenal could also maintain the 1-0 advantage until the first half was over.

Entering the second half, the match went well. Arsenal did not completely dominate the game. On the other hand, Brighton was able to keep up with the visitors' game.

Even the hosts were finally able to steal a goal from the penalty spot after Saliba was judged to have fouled Joao Pedro in the 61st minute. Both players jumped together to head the ball. But in that incident, Saliba violated Pedro so referee Anthony Taylor did not hesitate to point to the spot.

Pedro, who took the execution, managed to outwit goalkeeper David Raya. The score changed 1-1 and lasted until the game was over because both teams failed to take advantage of chances in the remaining time.