Arsenal 2 Brighton 1: Did Hurzeler pick wrong team? Why the slow starts? And what about Minteh?
Fabian Hurzeler undoubtedly wants to return to the winter break that he regularly experienced in Germany, when he was at the head of St Pauli.
Saturday’s 2-1 defeat to Arsenal means Brighton & Hove Albion have not won in 11 matches in December under the head coach in two Premier League seasons.
The league leaders’ slim margin of victory flattered Brighton. Hurzeler’s side were out of action for an hour as they trailed to Martin Odegaard’s goal in the 14th minute and then a Georginio Rutter own goal after 52 minutes.
Diego Gomez scored a goal 12 minutes later to turn the match into a contest, but Brighton, 12th without a win in five matches, are heading in the wrong direction for their European qualification aspirations.
Athletics analyzes the key talking points from the clash at the Emirates Stadium before a final chance to correct that December flaw in the final game of the year at West Ham United on Tuesday.
Did Hurzeler pick the wrong team?
Two half-time substitutions suggested the head coach was keen to fix his starting XI, although the problem with the first half performance was more a matter of mindset than tactics.
Hurzeler made three changes and changed the system to a back three following the pre-Christmas 0-0 draw at home to Sunderland. Skipper Lewis Dunk returned from a one-match suspension. Dunk’s usual central partner, Jan Paul van Hecke, has recovered from illness. Gomez, also excluded against Sunderland due to suspension, started on the left flank.
Brighton played in the first half like a team waiting and expecting to be beaten. Bukayo Saka was too hot for left back Maxim De Cuyper and left center back Dunk to handle. The concern over Saka led to Odegaard having too much time and space on the edge of the area to shoot at Arsenal.
Bukayo Saka has attracted a lot of attention from Brighton (Adrian Dennis/AFP via Getty Images)
Hurzeler introduced Mats Wieffer at right-back for the second half in place of De Cuyper, moving Ferdi Kadioglu into his primary left-back role to deal with Saka. Hurzeler also brought in Yankuba Minteh on the right wing in place of the ineffective Brajan Gruda.
They could have gone down without a trace when Rutter, under no pressure at the near post from a Declan Rice corner, headed back into his own net, but Hurzeler’s revamped side played with much more intention and energy after the changes.
Slow start
It’s hard enough to pick up away points in the Premier League without continually giving yourself a mountain to climb. For the seventh time in nine away games, Brighton fell behind to the Emirates inside the first 24 minutes.
It is no coincidence that avoiding an early deficit led to two of the best away results: a 0-0 draw at rivals Crystal Palace and a 2-0 victory at Nottingham Forest.
Gomez transformed the pattern of play and the atmosphere inside the stadium by firing in a rebound when Yasin Ayari’s angled shot bounced off the far post. The versatile Paraguayan international is now Brighton’s top scorer in all competitions with eight goals, one ahead of Danny Welbeck, six of which have been away goals.
Diego Gomez gave Brighton some hope (Mark Thompson/Getty Images)
By the end of the game, five forwards were on the field, with Welbeck returning from the bench after a back injury against one of his former clubs, as well as teenagers Charalampos Kostoulas and Tommy Watson chasing an unlikely point.
Arsenal were hanging on in a match they should have won at a gallop, but why did Brighton take an hour to wake up?
Mystery of Minteh
Winger Kaoru Mitoma is one of Brighton’s main attacking threats but ankle problems have disrupted his season. He returned as a substitute against Liverpool and Sunderland this month, but was absent again against Arsenal due to illness.
In Mitoma’s absence, Minteh was tasked with providing the magic from outside, showing his importance to the team through his contributions in and out of possession. He has declined recently, but it was still surprising that Hurzeler chose not to select him in the starting lineup.
Minteh’s pace and effort made the difference when he came on in the second half. It took one of the best saves of the season to deny Minteh an equalizer, with David Raya at full stretch as he threw a right hand to stop a curling shot after Rutter’s smart layoff.
World-class save from David Raya after Minteh’s shot (Mark Thompson/Getty Images)
Being without Mitoma was unlucky, but starting without Minteh as well was a wasted opportunity to fully test Arsenal’s makeshift back four on the wings. They didn’t have a regular right back available, so Rice replaced him. An injury to Riccardo Calafiori during the warm-up meant Myles Lewis-Skelly was promoted from the left bench.
Difficult away debut for Coppola
Hurzeler stayed alongside Diego Coppola to form a defensive trio, giving the Italian his first appearance outside on the right of the back three. Leandro Trossard caused problems in the first half and Coppola received his second booking in successive games for a foul on the former Brighton striker early in the second half.
Coppola and Olivier Boscagli were signed during the summer window to boost depth and competition for places in central defense. Further changes may be needed in this department next summer.
Dunk, 34, extended his contract by a year by reaching 15 league starts in the recent 2-0 defeat at Liverpool. Van Hecke is under contract until June 27, but there is no indication yet that the ambitious Dutchman will agree a new deal.
Brighton’s Italian defender Diego Coppola gained minutes (Adrian Dennis/AFP via Getty Images)
Coppola wants more minutes to increase his chances of making the Italian team if they qualify for next year’s World Cup via the European play-offs in March.
Boscagli, demoted to the bench after his second league start against Sunderland, has been frustrated by the lack of playing time. A part of the team that felt secure for the future a few months ago is suddenly potentially in flux.