Arsenal’s waning title hopes have received a devastating blow after losing to Brighton to hand leaders Manchester City a win for a fifth Premier League title in six seasons.
The Gunners had to react after City 3-0 win against Everton earlier on Sunday, Mikel Arteta’s side trailed by four points in the title chase.
On a deeply frustrating day for Arsenal, Leandro Trossard hit the crossbar against his former club while Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka both went close before Julio Enciso’s close-range header gave Brighton the lead.
Substitute Deniz Undav doubled the lead after lobbing Aaron Ramsdale in the 86th minute before Pervis Estupinan added to Arsenal’s misery with Brighton’s third in the 96th minute.
City will claim the Premier League title next Sunday in front of their own fans if they beat Chelsea at home (4.00pm BST), although Arsenal beat Nottingham Forest at the City Ground on Saturday (5.30pm).
However, City will be confirmed champions without playing on Saturday if the Gunners lose at Forest.
In a game littered with gross fouls, Arsenal lost Brazilian striker Gabriel Martinelli to injury in the first half after Brighton’s Ecuadorian midfielder Moises Caicedo was fouled, which the Gunners tried to sign in January.
Brighton, who are aiming for a place in Europe for the first time, had narrowly passed Enciso before the Paraguayan striker stunned the Emirates with his 51st-minute goal.
The victory lifted the Seagulls above Aston Villa and Tottenham into sixth place on 58 points, four behind fifth-placed Liverpool with a game less.
The maximum number of points Arsenal can score is 87, while City have 85 with games against Chelsea (home), Brighton (away) and Brentford (away) to come.
Arsenal’s title challenge is running out of steam
The Arsenal players fell to their knees after the full-time whistle, quickly realizing their title dream was almost over after being separated by Brighton.
The Gunners deserve huge credit for the way they pushed Manchester City into the title race, but their pursuit is about to come to an end after a very damaging end-of-season defeat.
Manchester City’s comfortable win at Everton earlier on Sunday opened up a four-point gap at the top, but this time Arsenal were unable to respond to the pressure placed on them by the treble-chasing side of Pep Guardiola.
There were still almost 40 minutes to go when Enciso opened the scoring but the Gunners failed to find the net for the first time since February 4.
Arteta sent on Eddie Nketiah and Emile Smith Rowe to try to salvage a point but the Arsenal boss, who was shown a yellow card by referee Andy Madley, saw his side concede two more goals as the home side suffered a complete defeat.
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