Brighton Boss: Arsenal Made Us Suffer Like Never Before

Roberto De Zerbi heaps praise on Arsenal…

Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi heaped praise on Arsenal following our 2-0 win against his side at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday, labelling the Gunners as the best team in the Premier League.

Mikel Arteta’s men were in rare form against The Seagulls, dominating from start to finish and peppering the visitor’s goal with 26 shots.

De Zerbi admitted that he witnessed something new when watching the game from the sidelines as he saw his side pinned back for the majority of the game.

While the possession stats seem even to the naked eye, watching the game will lead you to conclude that most of Brighton’s possession was in their third – often between the centre-backs and the goalkeeper.

The Italian manager referred to his side’s experience in north London as “suffering”, arguably the biggest compliment that could be paid to Arteta’s tactics.

“Arsenal played much better than us,” De Zerbi admitted in his post-match press conference.

“They deserved to win the game. We suffered a lot. I think Arsenal are one of the best, maybe this season the best team in the Premier League.

“We are not used to suffering in this way. We are used to controlling the game.”

The only negative from Arsenal’s point of view was the scoreline; Arteta will be frustrated that the game wasn’t out of sight early on.

It’s no longer something we can overlook, too. This team needs too many chances and time in the opponent’s half to score goals. Considering that we don’t have any injuries in the forward line at the moment, what that department of the team is delivering is quite unnerving.

I wonder if that’s something Arteta becomes determined to address in January?