Arsenal held to 1-1 Brighton draw as Tottenham and Man City await
Mikel Arteta was a frustrated figure on the Emirates Stadium touchline last Saturday, with Arsenal held to a 1-1 draw at home to Brighton on a less-than ideal afternoon in north London.
Why Arteta personally pulled plug on Arsenal signing £330k-per-week striker
Despite makeshift striker Kai Havertz opening the scoring with an excellent lobbed finish over the helpless Bart Verbruggen, Arteta's men couldn't press home their advantage, and watched star midfielder Declan Rice get sent off for two bookable offenses.
Brighton striker Joao Pedro equalised for Fabian Hurzeler's side just before the hour mark, compounding Arsenal and Arteta's misery, with the Premier League title hopefuls dropping their first points of the new campaign.
Joao-Pedro-Brighton
"It was a very emotional afternoon, for sure," said Arteta after Arsenal's 1-1 draw to Brighton. "We started the game really well, created three or four chances that we didn’t convert. After that we had a period with some issues, particularly with the ball and we lacked some dominance in that period.
"We then score a really good goal in a moment when we take advantage of the opponent. Then we go in at half-time, come back and we were really strong.
Arsenal's next five Premier League games
Date
Tottenham (away)
September 15
Man City (away)
September 22
Leicester City (home)
September 28
Southampton (home)
October 5
Bournemouth (away)
October 19
"Then the referee makes a decision that changes the course of the game. With 10 men, the team reacted unbelievably well, the stadium reacts unbelievably well and we should have won the game."
Arteta will be disappointed to drop points at home to Brighton, with that result hardly coming as the best warm-up for two of their biggest games of the season in Spurs and Man City.
Arsenal suffer Mikel Merino injury blow as fourth potential player misses Tottenham
The Daily Mail have shared more bad news for Arsenal, concerning new summer arrival Mikel Merino. Merino put pen to paper on a £32 million move to Arsenal after weeks of talks, but the Spain international will have to wait a long time to make his debut after shoulder injury in training.
Merino-Arsenal
The 28-year-old fractured his deltoid during his very first session at London Colney, following a collision with star defender Gabriel Magalhaes. The Mail and reliable journalist Sami Mokbel now provide an update, and they write that Merino is set to miss nearly two months after his injury at Arsenal's training complex.
Merino is set to miss their match against Tottenham as a result, joining Rice (suspension) on the sidelines for Arsenal's encounter. As well as Merino and Rice, both Takehiro Tomiyasu and Kieran Tierney are doubts for the derby, with no return date confirmed yet for the pair.
Arteta could therefore be without four senior players to face Ange Postecoglou's side, but there's some good news about Gabriel Jesus and Jurrien Timber, who could yet play a part and make their return.
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