Our Arsenal week 34 match review covers the Gunners’ match against Brighton at the Emirates Stadium. Unfortunately, Arsenal lost 3-0 and the title race is now truly over. The Gunners looked fairly unmotivated overall in this match, possibly because the title race was already largely out of their hands. Let’s break down what happened in this defeat.

Arsenal Week 34 Match Review: The Positives

Jorginho Did What He Could

In all honesty, there weren’t many positives in this match for the Gunners. One of the few bright spots in the game against Brighton was Jorginho. He played well once again, doing what he could to control possession and making plenty of good passes.

Brighton ended up with 59% possession in this game, but Jorginho competed in the midfield with all he had and was certainly the best player in Arsenal’s midfield in this game. I cannot fault Jorginho too much in this game. Partey did inject some more pace into Arsenal’s midfield, but Jorginho had another good performance.

Jakub Kiwior Played Well Overall

Kiwior did have one poor moment that led to a Brighton goal after a Brighton player stomped on his foot. He could have gotten better to help Arsenal defend, but he did not. Still, Jakub Kiwior played well overall.

Kiwior was composed on the ball and made some great passes. He defended well overall and was far from the worst player in Arsenal’s defense in this game. It’s good to see Kiwior step up now that he is starting at the end of the season.

Arsenal Week 34 Match Review: The Negatives

A General Lack of Motivation

The Gunners seemed surprisingly unmotivated in this game against Brighton overall. Perhaps it was due to fatigue from the long season or perhaps it was because Man City now had control of the title race. Regardless, Arsenal started off slowly and was fortunate to go into halftime with the score still at 0-0. The Gunners did not pick it up in the second half and Brighton capitalized by scoring twice to win the game before adding a third goal in stoppage time.

Ben White Appeared Mentally Checked Out

Arsenal’s defending overall in this game was poor, but Ben White was particularly poor. White seemed to be the most unmotivated member of Arsenal’s defense and allowed Mitoma to rampage down Arsenal’s right-hand side. Ben White deserves a fair bit of blame for how poorly Arsenal defended in this game. Hopefully, he plays better in the final two games, at least.

Arsenal Week 34 Match Review: Arsenal Only Got Two Shots on Goal

The Gunners’ attack was toothless, as well. Arsenal only managed to get two of their 14 shots on goal and didn’t score with either one. Saka, Martinelli, Jesus, and Trossard all wasted good or decent goal-scoring opportunities. This did not look like the same Arsenal attack that has scored 83 goals in the Premier League this season. Arsenal’s attackers seemed to lack a little motivation and certainly lacked accurate finishing.

The Subs Failed to Make Much of an Impact

Arteta subbed on Leandro Trossard in the first half then subbed on Thomas Partey, Reiss Nelson, Eddie Nketiah, and Emile Smith-Rowe in the second half. However, none of them made much of an impact. Partey added some more pace to the midfield but didn’t swing the midfield battle in Arsenal’s favor. Nelson missed a few chances and Smith-Rowe didn’t have many opportunities, either. The subs failed to make the intended impact.

Manager Rating: 3/10 for Arteta

Arteta did not properly motivate the team for the match against Brighton. That much was clear. At halftime, with the score 0-0, Arteta’s halftime team talk did not change much of anything, either. Partey might have been a better choice to start in the midfield against Brighton, even though Jorginho played well. The subs did very little, as well. Arteta did a very poor job in this match.

Arsenal Travel to Play Nottingham Forest Next

The Gunners travel to the City Ground to take on Nottingham Forest next. Arsenal has little to play for and Nottingham Forest are still not safe from relegation yet. Hopefully, the Gunners respond with a solid win against Forest. I would bet on another Arsenal away win.

Check back next week for more Arsenal content.