Brighton v Arsenal- Player Ratings

After returning to winning ways against Burnley, Arsenal took a step backwards with a disappointing 1-1 Boxing Day draw away to Brighton at the Amex in a performance that was filled with quality in the opening 20 minutes to only go entirely flat for the remainder of the match.     

The teamsheet once again saw Lacazette and Aubameyang deployed together up front in a 4-4-2 diamond, with Granit Xhaka at the base, Torreira and Guendouzi on either side and Ozil at the tip in a creative role.  The back line was a back 4, with Sokratis partnering Koscielny in the center, flanked by Lichtsteiner and Kolasinac on either side.  There was some speculation whether it would once again be a back 3 setup, however those assumptions were squashed once the match begain and Xhaka was lined up in his preferred position. 

We started the match out strong dominating possession and carving out chances and were rewarded with a goal after some lovely footwork from Lacazette and an incisive finish by Aubameyang.  We should have been two to the good after a wonderful pass from Torreira found Aubameyang, however Brighton stopper Matt Ryan did well to deny the chance.

From that point we started to lose the grip on the match, and Brighton capitalized on a woeful error from Lichtsteiner on 35 minutes.  The defender was better off leaving the long pass and letting it run, however his attempted clearance steered the ball straight in to the path of Locadia.  Leno then made the error of coming off his line thinking he could win the ball and was in no mans land and just like that it was 1 all. 

Ozil was hooked at halftime for Iwobi.  Ramsey was sent on for Lacazette on 62 minutes, and Maintland-Niles came on for Koscielny in the 70th.  None of the changes made any difference, as we were listless and short of ideas for basically the entire second half.  If we fail to make the top 4 at the seasons end, matches like these where it's an obvious 2 points lost are ones that will be painful to look back on.  One thing is for certain, that being we have to improve if we want to avoid embarrassment at the hands of the league leaders this coming Saturday at Anfield.        

Ratings

Bernd Leno: 6.5
Thought he was overzealous and made the wrong decision in charging off his line coming of his line on the goal where he was caught in no mans land.  Other than that mistake, he was equal to everything Brighton threw at him.  

Stephan Lichtsteiner: 4.5
4.5 One to forget for the veteran defender.  Largely fault for Brighton's goal, and didn't provide much of an attacking threat from RB. 

Sokratis: 6.5
Did well marshaling the awkward Glenn Murray and put in a solid performance alongside Koscielny, who is still obviously not entirely match fit. 

Laurent Koscielny: 6
Didn't do much wrong but you can tell he is still not entirely match fit.  Much more steadied display compared to the last. 

Sead Kolasinac: 5.5
He's much more effective deployed at left wing back in a system with 3 centre backs, which showed today.  Struggled to have any significant influence, even after switching to a back 3.

Granit Xhaka: 7
 Deployed at the base of central midfield in a diamond with Guendouzi, Torreira and Ozil.  Was composed throughout as the main outlet for our centre backs.  Was once again a victim of his own versatility being pushed back as part of the back 3 for the last 20 minutes.     

Lucas Torreira: 6.5
Busy as usual in central midfield, but not a standout performance by the little Uruguayan. Found Aubameyang with a brilliant pass that could have put us up 2 nil.   

Matteo Guendouzi: 6
Effective the first 20 minutes of the match and displayed improved positional discipline than in previous matches.  Struggled once we went ahead, and especially when we changed our midfield shape. 

Mesut Ozil: 5
Hooked at halftime.  Poor performance for his standards.  Struggled to provide any significant influence playing in that key creative role behind Lacazette and Aubameyang.     

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang: 7.5
Incisive finish on the first, but really should have had a second goal which could have changed the trajectory of the match.  Also had a really good attempt saved by Ryan prior to his opener.  Was our biggest threat to Brighton on the day.   


Alexandre Lacazette: 7
Brilliant footwork on the first goal to set up his striker partner Aubameyang.  Worked hard but with our collective, struggled for involvement and influence after we went ahead.  Don't think it was the correct decision to take him off.   

Subs

Alex Iwobi: 5
Came on at halftime for Mesut Ozil and was arguably more ineffective than Ozil. Failed to make any impact in the second half.

Aaron Ramsey: 5
Introducted for Lacazette in the 62nd minute.  Made no significant impact on the match.   

Ainsley Maintland-Niles: 5.5
Came on for Koscielny in the 70th minute and with that we changed our shape to a back 3.  He had a few chances in behind Brighton's defense which he probably could have done a bit better with.   


@TheTexasGooner