Arsenal's Premier League title hopes take a huge hit as Declan Rice experiment proves a step too far | OneFootball

The Gunners couldn’t hold on to their first-half lead at the Amex Stadium to drop points in the Premier League title race

Arsenal were held to a draw at Brighton as they missed out on the chance to close the gap on Premier League leaders Liverpool to just three points.

The Gunners took the lead in the first-half through Ethan Nwaneri, who despite being 17, scored his second Premier League goal of the season.

Arsenal, however, failed to kick on after that and Brighton pegged them back just after the hour mark through Joao Pedro.

The Brazilian won a penalty in an unusual fashion after referee Anthony Taylor pointed to the spot following a clash of heads with William Saliba.

Pedro made no mistake with the penalty and Arsenal were left to rue what would have been a big chance to close the gap on Liverpool.

Simon Collings was at the Amex to see Arsenal in action…

Title hopes take a huge hit

There are still 18 games left in this Premier League season, but Arsenal’s title hopes are truly hanging by a thread.

This draw here closed the gap on Liverpool to five points, however Arne Slot’s side have the luxury of two games in hand. Win both of those and Arsenal will be 11 points back.

The Gunners had 40 points at this stage of the season last year, however they were able to roar back into the title race with a stunning run.

Dejected: Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard can’t hide his disappointment after the 1-1 draw against Brighton.

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Arsenal won 16 of the final 18 league games, only surrendering the title to Manchester City on the final day.

The mood and feeling now, however, feels very different. Last January, Arsenal had three games and a trip to Dubai to reenergise.

This time, they have nine games and their squad resembles the walking wounded. Arteta faces a huge task to pick them up off the floor after this draw at Brighton.

Nwaneri makes history

This has been a big week for Nwaneri, who made his first start in the Premier League on New Year’s Day when Arsenal travelled to Brentford.

After an impressive performance there, the 17-year-old kept his place in the side for this clash at the Amex.

And, after just 16 minutes, Nwaneri showed why Arteta views him as a genuine option on the right flank in the absence of Bukayo Saka.

Played in by Mikel Merino, the teenager raced towards goal and finished low past Brighton goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen to put the Gunners ahead.

Ethan Nwaneri has now scored two Premier League goals for Arsenal this season.

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In doing so, Nwaneri made history as he became the first Arsenal player in history two score two Premier League goals before their 18th birthday.

The midfielder had several bright moments in the first-half, but there were also some loose ones, too. At times, he was guilty of being caught in possession when trying to beat an opposition defender.

It was what you would expect from a 17-year-old, however, and the fact he was hooked at half-time may also have been due to the fact Nwaneri was booked in the final moments of the first-half.

Rice replicates Odegaard role

When he began his youth career as a centre-back, it’s hard to think Declan Rice would have imagine that he would one day essentially be playing as an attacking midfielder.

That was the role Rice found himself in here at Brighton, though, as Arsenal’s bad run with injuries took it toll on them again.

Already without Saka due to his hamstring injury, Kai Havertz missed out again due to illness and Gabriel Martinelli and Martin Odegaard were only fit enough for the bench.

It meant Arsenal were, essentially, without their four best attackers and the team picked by Arteta underlined that. Jorginho, Merino, Partey and Rice were all in the XI.

Different role: Declan Rice played much higher up in Arsenal’s draw against Brighton.

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Rice was tasked with playing as a right No8, pushing high up the pitch to support striker Gabriel Jesus in the same way Odegaard does.

The England midfielder got through plenty of running, especially without the ball, and helped created Nwaneri’s goal by linking up well with Merino.

That, though, was a rare moment of quality on an otherwise difficult evening for Arsenal, where their attack struggled to create.