Pepe Impresses In Defeat: Arsenal Player Ratings vs Brighton and Hove Albion

Arsenal’s poor Premier League form after the restart continued as the Gunners succumbed to a 2-1 defeat against Brighton and Hove Albion earlier today at the Amex Stadium.

Despite taking the lead through Nicolas Pepe’s curling strike, goals from Lewis Dunk and Neal Maupay condemned Mikel Arteta’s side to their second straight defeat in the league.

Here are our Arsenal player ratings from what transpired earlier at the Amex Stadium.

Arsenal player ratings vs Brighton

Bernd Leno: 6/10

The custodian looked comfortable under the bar but was forced to leave the pitch in the first half after landing awkwardly. Leno ran to collect a bouncing ball, but was given a little shove by Maupay which caused the landing and the subsequent knee injury. His season could, unfortunately, be over.

Hector Bellerin: 6.5/10

Bellerin was a lot more adventurous today, and linked up well with Pepe. Also kept a close eye on Aaron Mooy, but his offensive output can improve further.

Shkodran Mustafi: 6/10

The German centre-back had a decent outing, winning 6 aerial duels during the game, but was at fault for not dealing with Maupay when the latter scored the winner.

Rob Holding: 6/10

Making a comeback after months, Holding appeared to be rusty, but held his nerves and covered Mustafi on most of the occasions. Needs more playing time to improve.

Sead Kolasinac: 6/10

The left-back did not make the usual forward forays that he is known for. Nonetheless, he was fairly solid defensively and resisted to the threat imposed by Pascal Gross.

Dani Ceballos: 5/10

In the absence of Mesut Ozil and Granit Xhaka, Ceballos had the chance to make his presence felt but sadly, he flattered to deceive. He was way too slow in his movement, and created very little for the attackers.

Matteo Guendouzi 7/10

With a pass success rate of 93%, the French prodigy dazzled in the midfield and shielded Mustafi and Holding well. His intelligence was visible with the way he dictated the tempo of the game and produced a disciplined display.

Nicolas Pepe: 7.5/10

Pepe tormented Dan Burn and worked his socks off in the early periods of the game. His well-taken goal in the second half with a curling shot was unstoppable, and was unarguably the best moment of the game for the Gunners.

Bukayo Saka: 7/10

The young attacker was unlucky to hit the crossbar early in the game, but that only boosted his confidence. He was sharp with his movement, assisted Pepe for the goal, and put in some good crosses into the box.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang: 5/10

Despite taking 7 shots on goal, the Gabonese lacked precision. He was handed openings, but need to put on his scoring boots soon.

Alexandre Lacazette: 6/10

Lacazette worked really hard to press the Brighton centre-backs when they tried to play out from the back. Combined well with Aubameyang, but his goal-drought goes on.

Substitutes

Emiliano Martinez: 6/10

Came on after Leno’s departure, and made a good save to deny Mooy. Cannot be blamed for either of the two goals that he conceded.

Eddie Nketiah: 5/10

He was brought on to inject energy into Arsenal’s attack, but he was far from convincing.

Kieran Tierney NA

Joe Willock NA

Reiss Nelson NA

Stat via Whoscored