Arsenal 0-3 Brighton: Excellent Estupinan eases to top of ratings
The only thing missing from an excellent debut campaign with the Albion for Pervis Estupinan had been a goal. Not any more. The popular left back duly opened his account in Arsenal 0-3 Brighton with a strike that helped him to top spot in the player ratings.
Estupinan seems to have gone under the radar somewhat despite being very much one of the frontrunners for Albion Player of the Season.
This is good news for Brighton, of course. If nobody is talking about Estupinan because all the focus is on Alexis Mac Allister and Moises Caicedo, then the Albion stand a good chance of hanging onto him for at least another year.
His goal against Arsenal capped a memorable 90 minutes in which he also did what few full backs have managed in 2022-23, keeping Bukayo Saka unusually quiet.
There were other good displays across the Albion team, of course. You do not hammer a side chasing the Premier League title away from home otherwise. Here are your Arsenal 0-3 Brighton player ratings.
Jason Steele – 8.17
Responded to shipping five goals at home to Everton with a clean sheet away at Arsenal. Made several important stops across the afternoon, including one with his feet at the near post which looked like it might have caused issues.
Moises Caicedo – 8.92
A performance which showed the whole Emirates Stadium what a piss take the Gunners’ £70 million January bid was. Deployed again at right back, where he injured Gabriel Martinelli and kept early substitute Leandro Trossard quiet for the most part. Anyone who signs him this summer is not only getting a world class midfielder, but a player with the versatility to slot seamlessly in at full back too.
Lewis Dunk – 7.92
Probably expected to be a lot busier than he was. Won most things in the air, made a couple of important blocks and kept things relatively simple at the back, which allowed Levi Colwill to shine as the defensive playmaker on this occasion.
Levi Colwill – 8.58
Roberto De Zerbi charged Colwill with stepping out of defence and into midfield to deal with Martin Odegaard. That was a tactic loaded with risk as it had the potential to leave huge gaps in the Brighton back four. Colwill was so good, however, that it worked to perfection. His passing was spot on as well, including one beautiful raking ball down the left in the build up to the opening goal.
PERVIS ESTUPINAN – 9.08
Saka pocketed, one assist, one goal. There cannot have been many better left back performances in the Premier League this season than Estupinan and his ratings-winning effort in Arsenal 0-3 Brighton. How many other players would still have the energy or desire with their team leading 2-0 in the 96th minute to charge up the pitch, be the furthest man forward and volley home a rebound from inside the opposition penalty area?
Pascal Gross – 7.75
Swapped roles with Caicedo, coming into midfield as his lack of pace would have posed a serious problem against Martinelli. It was another decision which proved spot on from De Zerbi as Gross helped shield the defence and used the ball wisely. His pressing of Trossard led to the Vampire of Genk’s attempted pass bouncing off Gross to send Deniz Undav clear for the second. Probably the weirdest assist of his Albion collection… but they all count.
Billy Gilmour – 7.42
Returned to the starting XI with another composed display alongside Gross. It has taken some time for Gilmour to get his Brighton career up and running but he has begun to look at home in the deeper midfield role these past few weeks, which bodes well in the likely event Alexis Mac Allister and/or Caicedo are sold in the summer.
Kaoru Mitoma – 8.17
De Zerbi sprung a surprise by starting Mitoma on the right. He had a couple of bright spots but it was once switched to the left that he really caused havoc, beating former Albion defender Ben White with ease on several occasions.
Alexis Mac Allister – 7.67
Pushed into the number 10 role, where his scheming and desire to get Brighton on the front foot were very useful. Unlucky not to score when the Albion began to dominate the second half with a difficult volley drilled just wide of the post.
Julio Enciso – 8.25
A lively showing in which he both created chances and put himself in the right place at the right time to have scoring opportunities. More composure was needed when he blasted a Mitoma cut back into the top tier of the North Bank from 12 yards out. Made up for that with the close range header which gave Brighton the lead and moved him onto three goals since the start of April.
Evan Ferguson – 7.75
Failed to have a clear sight of goal but his game is about so much more than just scoring. Provided a focal point to the attack, held the ball up well and was willing to drop deep to link the play. Such a mature performance.
Danny Welbeck – 7.50
A bold move from De Zerbi to replace defensive midfielder Gilmour with centre forward Danny Welbeck for the final 20 minutes when defending a 1-0 lead away from home against opponents chasing the title. And it worked to perfection. Buzzed around in what was almost a free role, varying from playing next to Ferguson to moving deeper into a number 10 position. Arsenal were not entirely sure how to cope with it and he nearly got on the scoresheet with an effort fired wide.
Facundo Buonanotte – 6.75
On the pitch when Undav and Estupinan moved the score from Arsenal 0-1 Brighton to Arsenal 0-3 Brighton.
Deniz Undav – 7.92
Scored the second goal shortly after coming on with a composed chip over Aaron Ramsdale. It was then his shot parried by Ramsdale into the path of Estupinan for the third. A contribution worthy of a few complimentary kebabs on Sunday evening.
The WAB Player Ratings are formulated using marks out of 10 given by Brighton fans via Twitter. To have your scores included, follow We Are Brighton on Twitter and look out for the player rating thread after each game.
