Sometimes you can read several reports of the same game and wonder if the writers were all at different matches, so varied are their opinions. But if you read one report of Albion’s 1-0 home defeat against Arsenal you felt you had read them all, certainly as regards the verdicts on the performance of Graham Potter’s men.
Once they had decided whether the Gunners’ victory was the continuation of a new dawn for Mikel Arteta and company or too early to say, all agreed that this was another typical Brighton performance – strong on creativity and ambition but less potent in execution.
That is not to say that they were dismissive – far from it. Indeed, it would be fair to say that neutrals among the press corps – and even some who support rival clubs – appreciate and even enjoy what the Albion players are attempting to do on the field.
Dave Kidd of The Sun, for example, was frustrated, but tried to find positives. He wrote: “There was no specialist striker in Potter’s wheel-spinning line-up yet they carved out the first couple of openings - Ali Jahanbakhsh skying a shot from Bernardo’s cross and Dan Burn heading over from an Yves Bissouma centre.
“Arsenal were being successfully smothered, Aubameyang isolated, and Bernd Leno was forced into some emergency ball-juggling as Brighton pressed high. But when Mohamed Elneny was dispossessed on the edge of the area, Alexis Mac Allister blazed just over with the Seagulls beginning to get on top. Jahanbakhsh then forced a fine save from Leno, plunging low, with his back four looking chaotic in the build-up.
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“It was the only shot on target in a miserable first half but Brighton forced a corner straight from the restart and Arsenal survived a VAR check after Lewis Dunk claimed he had been fouled. Then Arsenal finally threatened, breaking at pace for Bukayo Saka to zip in a cross and Aubameyang denied by a brilliant point-blank save from Robert Sanchez. The Brighton keeper had done well to fight off the frostbite and the brain-freeze after a redundant first-half.”
Sam Dean of the Daily Telegraph is another writer who wishes Albion well, writing: “Once again, they had plenty of the ball and more than their fair share of chances. Once again, they left a Premier League match without the points to show for it. Graham Potter’s side had effort and ideas, but they had no spark and no edge.
“’It is frustrating,’ said Potter. ‘We are doing some things well, but we need to carry on improving. This league is so demanding, so punishing. We have to stick together as a group but the personality on the pitch was really good.’
“Personality does not equal points, though, and Brighton were left to curse their inability to take their chances in the first half. For a time they had Arsenal rattled, with Alireza Jahanbakhsh and Pascal Gross both causing problems for a much-changed Brighton side.
“Lacazette’s goal meant the onus was on Brighton to find a moment of class to compare with Saka’s. On came Leandro Trossard, Solly March and Neal Maupay, but Arsenal held their shape and their nerve.”
Even self-confessed Arsenal fan John Cross of the Mirror was sympathetic. He wrote that “It would be wrong to suggest Arsenal’s problems are behind them because they struggled in a first half woefully short on quality and chances.
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“But Brighton have got their own issues as, for all of Graham Potter’s impressive progress and watchable performances, they struggle for goals.
“Alireza Jahanbakhsh and Alexis Mac Allister took it in turns to play as a false nine but neither did a particularly good impression of a real striker.
“Jahanbakhsh produced the best moment of the first half when his low 37th-minute shot was well saved by Arsenal keeper Bernd Leno. That was the only shot on target in a woeful opening 45 minutes.”
The i reached a very similar conclusion: “Brighton’s team, with a day less to recover after their 2-2 draw against West Ham United at the London Stadium, showed six changes, but whatever their line-up, the constant is their ability to outplay any opposition between the two penalty areas while being ineffective in front of goal.
“Alireza Jahanbakhsh smacked an early opportunity high and wide from a low cross by Brazilian left back Bernardo. And when Arsenal went to sleep at a corner kick, Dan Burn got no power into a free header from a cross by the non-stop Yves Bissouma. Alexis Mac Allister shot wildly after Mohamed Elneny gifted possession to him, Bernardo miskicked at the far post and Jahanbakhsh shot too close to Leno.
“The Seagulls leave 2020 with only one home win to their name in the old calendar year and plenty to do to retain their Premier League place.”
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Sami Mokbel of the Daily Mail noticed what, or rather who, was missing. “Brighton, following a tentative start, grew into the game as Alexis Mac Allister and Alireza Jahanbakhsh wasted their most promising openings.
“The statistics, though, were telling. One shot on target - Bernd Leno denial of Jahanbakhsh's 37th minute effort - the only moment of any real note.
“The verve of Arsenal's excellent display against Chelsea had deserted them during the opening period, while Brighton were clearly missing the thrust of England hopeful Tariq Lamptey, who missed the clash through injury.”
In The Guardian, Nick Ames looked back on happier times for fans forced to watch from home. “’Certainly in the first half we did well,’ Potter said, and that was unarguable. “It had not seemed a given at the outset; he had made six changes from the team who drew at West Ham presumably in part due to a day’s shorter recovery than their opponents, and three of the newcomers had not started in the top flight all season.
“In the event Bernardo, Davy Propper and Alexis Mac Allister all performed creditably; the latter came close with a long-range effort before the interval and had Bernd Leno not saved from Propper shortly before Saka and Lacazette combined, the night would have taken a very different hue.
“But Brighton, who also tested Leno through Alireza Jahanbakhsh, are now winless in seven and this was a far cry from the sunny afternoon on which these sides met in June. Back then they punished Arsenal at the death and Arteta was left with a cleaning-up job that included the banishing of Matteo Guendouzi. This time there was no late pressure.”