‘Arsenal are going backwards – they always give teams a chance’: Gunners legend Ray Parlour delivers a scathing assessment of Mikel Arteta’s side after the crushing defeat by Brighton
- Arsenal’s disappointing season continued after a last-gasp defeat to Brighton
- The Gunners lost back to back games after restarting their league campaign
- Mikel Arteta’s side sit tenth and club icon Ray Parlour has hit out at the team
- He said Arsenal are too easy to play against and should have beaten the Seagulls
Arsenal legend Ray Parlour has laid into Arsenal following their late collapse against Brighton, saying the team are too easy to play against and are ‘going backwards’.
Neal Maupay scored at the death to nick a 2-1 win for the Seagulls on Saturday and consign Mikel Arteta’s men to back-to-back defeats since they restarted their Premier League campaign.
The Gunners are now tenth and look way off the pace in the battle for Champions League football next year, a vital source of revenue for the club.
Former Arsenal midfielder Ray Parlour believes the team are currently too easy to play against
Neal Maupay netted 95th minute winner to consign Arsenal to a second defeat of the restart
They were put to the sword by Manchester City on Wednesday night in a 3-0 defeat and while Parlour accepted they didn’t stand much of a chance in that game, the Brighton match was one they couldn’t afford to lose.
Nicholas Pepe had put Arsenal ahead before goals from Lewis Dunk and Maupay completed the turnaround.
‘This was a game they had to win,’ Parlour told Stadium Astro, as reported by the Mirror.
‘Not a lot of people would’ve given them a chance against Manchester City in a normal league period.
Lewis Dunk had equalised before the relegation threatened side completed their turnaround
‘But going to Brighton, if you’re going to compete with teams at the top – everybody’s dream at Arsenal is to get back into the Champions League, but these are the sides you’ve got to beat.’
‘They got themselves in a good position by getting the opening goal, but they always give teams a chance. That’s the problem with Arsenal at the moment.’
Arsenal have lost eight games this season and conceded 41 goals – as many as the team they lost to, with Brighton battling relegation.
Parlour, who played nearly 600 games for Arsenal, believes they ‘always give teams a chance’
Parlour, who spent 14 years with the north London side – winning three titles and four FA Cups – said Graham Potter’s side deserve credit for rallying to a big win, but believes the Gunners were not good enough as they European hopes slip away.
‘Fair play to Brighton, they took that chance and they scored two fantastic goals – especially the last one. It was a fantastic winner for Brighton.
‘But the fans will be very much on their backs a little bit now because they demand more of the players. They demands wins, they demand getting closer to that top five.
Manager Mikel Arteta has a tough job at the Emirates after watching his side sink to tenth
The players have underwhelmed this season and look unlikely to make the Champions League
‘At the moment Arsenal are going backwards.’
Time is running out for the Gunners to save their season as the prepare to travel to a rejuvenated Southampton side next on Thursday before a home clash against relegation threatened Norwich.
Arteta, who labelled the Brighton defeat as ‘unacceptable’, still has a chance to win the FA Cup in his first season in charge, but faces a tough trip to Sheffield United in their sixth round tie next Sunday.
