"It is not a good feeling at the moment" - Arsenal star claims Gunners have 'no hope' of winning the PL after loss to Brighton
Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard feels his team have 'no hope' of winning the Premier League title after their shock 3-0 loss against Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday (May 14).
The Gunners failed to take their chances in the first half and were made to pay for it in the second 45 minutes. Julio Enciso began the scoring at the Emirates in the 51st minute, with Deniz Undav and Pervis Estupinan scoring late goals to seal the three points.
After the game, a dejected Odegaard told reporters, via Football.London:
"Yeah it feels like that [whether the title is over]. It is going to be very difficult now we have to be honest. It is tough to take. It is not a good feeling at the moment. The way we played, particularly in the second half, I don’t know what happened to be honest. It feels like there is no hope now."
The Gunners have won just two of their last seven league games and sit second in the table with 81 points from 36 matches. Manchester City hold a four-point lead over them with a game in hand.
It seems that the north London outfit have been handed a reality check on what it will actually take to dethrone this dominant Manchester City side. They are on course to win their fifth league title under Pep Guardiola in the last six seasons.
While Arsenal have faltered in recent weeks, the Sky Blues have taken 40 out of a possible 42 points in their last 14 Premier League games.
Mikel Arteta doesn't want use Man City result as excuse for Arsenal's loss against Brighton
Manchester City secured a 3-0 away win against Everton right before Arsenal kicked off against Brighton & Hove Albion.
It could have been a psychological blow for the Gunners, given that they wouldn't have ended the weekend on top of the table even if they beat the Seagulls. Mikel Arteta, however, doesn't want to use this as an excuse to justify his team's torrid second-half display against Brighton.
The Spanish tactician said after the game, via the aforementioned source:
"I don’t know [if City's win impacted Arsenal against Brighton]. This cannot be the way to justify what happened in the second half because in the first half it didn’t happen. It was very interrupted. In the second half we lost focus."
The Seagulls completely dominated the second half, keeping 56% possession and managing five shots on target as compared to their opponents' one. Their xG (expected goals) of 1.45 in the second half was considerably better than the Gunners' 0.38 (h/t SofaScore).