Nicolas Pepe double downs Brighton - but Arsenal's European push falls just short
In the end, Arsenal could have no complaints about their failure to seal late qualification for Europe. Over the course of this campaign, had they done enough to deserve a place in the top seven? In the last few months, they had. Before that, though, they had not. And those dreadful few weeks before Christmas ultimately proved fatal for Mikel Arteta’s side, who did all they could on this final day but were too reliant on other results to go their way.
The new Conference League was within their grasp for much of the afternoon before Tottenham Hotspur’s late dramatics ripped it from the hands of Arteta and his players. Only time will tell whether that competition is a prize or a punishment yet, for now at least, Arsenal’s inability to leapfrog Tottenham would have felt like a blow.
“We have tried to stick together and do our best but it’s not been enough,” said Arteta. “Now we have to be very critical of ourselves and prepare for next season in the best possible way.”
It all meant that next year will be Arsenal’s first outside of European competition since 1995/96, although at least their strange campaign ended with a victory. It also ended with another couple of goals for Nicolas Pepe, whose two strikes against Brighton took him to five in his last three appearances.
Arsenal’s record signing has never found consistency like this before in England. In these final few matches, when it looked as if his side’s season was over, it has been the Ivorian who has largely led the way for his team.
At the final whistle, when the news of Tottenham’s victory had filtered through, many of the 10,000 returning fans sang songs of protest against the club’s Kroenke owners. Many had also protested before the game, even if a torrential downpour had not helped their cause.
Josh Kroenke, who is far more involved than his father Stan, was at the Emirates for this match. He had been at the training ground on Saturday, too, speaking to the coaching staff and the players.
The presence of the big boss, and indeed the supporters, provided plenty of motivation for Arteta’s players. They started with conviction as on-loan playmaker Martin Odegaard pulled the strings in the final third. Odegaard is due to return to Real Madrid at the end of this season but there is no doubt that Arsenal would like to keep him. “We have a very clear and strong opinion on what we would like to do,” said Arteta.
Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka both had efforts from range, and defender Gabriel struck the bar, as Arsenal dominated the first half. Brighton threatened on the break, though, with Jakub Moder denied only by a sliding block by Rob Holding.
Graham Potter’s side were again reliant on another fine showing by midfielder Yves Bissouma, who is expected to leave. Asked if could give any assurances about Bissouma’s future, Potter admitted: “Not really.”
The breakthrough for the home side came a few minutes into the second half, when Calum Chambers overlapped down the right. His pass found Pepe, who crashed his low finish into the net.
Another goal to his name, Pepe was flying now. Played in by Odegaard’s delicate pass, he charged towards goal before finishing calmly into the far corner.
From there Arsenal were strolling, and they almost added a third when Partey crashed an effort off the crossbar. But events elsewhere had suddenly become more pressing, and Tottenham’s result did not go Arsenal’s way. After all that, it was a fittingly galling end to a gruelling campaign.
