The two Arsenal players Mikel Arteta 'exploded' with fury at during draw with Brighton

01/05/2025 05:15 AM

Mikel Arteta was cut a frustrated figure on the touchline at the Amex as Arsenal were held to a frustrating 1-1 draw with Brighton.

The Gunners allowed their first-half lead to slip as Joao Pedro was awarded a controversial penalty for a clash with William Saliba. The draw is a serious blow to their title hopes as Liverpool’s gap at the top is now five points with two games in hand.

The North London club significantly allowed their standards to slip in the second 45 minutes and despite being on the end of a controversial decision, they only have themselves to blame for failing to kill off the game.

Why Mikel Arteta exploded with rage at Thomas Partey and Gabriel Jesus

Mikel Arteta was furious on several occasions in the second half as his team allowed the game to get away from them. Ethan Nwaneri’s first-half strike should have been a key moment in the game with the visitors getting an early goal, however, they failed to make it count.

The standards dipped after the interval and Brighton were given a foothold back in the game which they took through Joao Pedro’s spot kick. Arteta was furious with several of his players, in particular Gabriel Jesus and Thomas Partey.

Partey once again featured at right-back and was joined in the second half by Gabriel Martinelli who replaced the injured Nwaneri. Arteta was spotted fuming at the Ghainian for selling Martinelli short with a poor pass.

Meanwhile, Gabriel Jesus was also scolded by the manager as his pressing from the front dropped off in the second half. Jesus has been superb over recent weeks but on the South Coast he was far from his best.

Arsenal set unwanted Premier League stat vs Brighton

Arsenal have now received more bookings for time-wasting than any other team in the Premier League this season. The goal scorer Nwaneri was shown a yellow card for an incident in the first half which took the Gunners to nine bookings for time wasting.

As mentioned, Arteta’s team can only have themselves to blame for not collecting three points with time-wasting shooting them in the foot.