Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard admits they should learn from Sunday’s 3-0 home defeat at Brighton.
The Gunners’ wan title hopes were dashed after second-half goals from Julio Enciso, Deniz Undava and Pervis Estupinan gave the visitors a stunning victory at the Emirates.
Premier League leaders Manchester City now need another win in their last three games to clinch the title, but they could be champions without a game if Arsenal lose at Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
City beat Everton 3-0 ahead of the Gunners’ clash with Brighton and despite a strong first half, Mikel Arteta’s side lost and the Seagulls took the lead in the 51st minute thanks to Enciso before they beat the hosts with Undawa’s late goals. and Estupinan.
Asked if the problem is mentality, Ödegaard insisted: “No, I don’t think so.
“I felt like we were a good fit for the game, but yes, the game was different.
“We have to accept it and learn from it.
“We did a lot of good things in the first half and we had a few moments where we could create some big chances and maybe score a goal or two.
“Then in the second half we gave them more and more momentum. They are dangerous when they come straight and especially to the right of us, they attacked us too easily from behind, but now it’s hard to tell. There are many things we could do better.”
While Arsenal boss Arteta did not concede defeat in the title race, Ødegaard admitted that their hopes were probably over.
City’s success at Goodison Park has led them to 11 straight Premier League victories and the title is expected to be decided this coming weekend.
Ødegaard told Sky Sports: “Yeah, it looks like it (title ended). I think it will be very difficult now. We have to be honest, so this is hard to accept.
“At the moment it’s not a good feeling. The way we played, especially in the second half, I don’t know what happened to be honest, but a big, big disappointment.
“Yeah, it looks like there’s no hope now.”
Brighton put on a brilliant performance in the second half, getting their unlikely top four back on track after suffering a surprise 5-1 home defeat to Everton last Monday.
Roberto De Zerbi rolled over the touchline after an Undaz cross in the 86th minute and then fell to his knees celebrating Estupinan’s win.
The Italian downplayed comparisons to José Mourinho, who did the same during his time at Porto against Manchester United in 2004, but acknowledged that the sky is the limit for him and his team.
Roberto De Zerbi celebrates Brighton’s third goal pic.twitter.com/MzdSKmKJKp
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) May 14, 2023
“Jose Mourinho is a great coach, but I have character and passion,” De Zerbi said.
“I don’t know (about the future). Right now I’m only focused on qualifying for Europe.
“In my future, I want to dream because I am used to giving everything in my work. I live my work and want to dream. I want to always achieve the impossible goal.
“Now with Brighton. Earlier with Shakhtar, earlier with Sassuolo. When I work in football, I want to aim very high and if I lose, I will lose and we will start stronger.”
De Zerby remained modest due to the absence of Robert Sanchez, who until February was his main goalkeeper.
“We spoke two days ago and we agreed that today he is not going to come here,” De Zerby explained.
“He knew he wouldn’t play, so we agreed.”