Arsenal 2-0 Brighton: Bissouma tops ratings… but was this goodbye?
If this was goodbye, then Yves Bissouma at least rides off to bigger and better things having topped the WAB Player Ratings one final time as Brighton ended their 2020-21 season with a 2-0 defeat at Arsenal.
You do not need us to tell you that Bissouma is a man in demand. Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal, Real Madrid, Paris Saint Germain… it would probably be easier to list the clubs across Europe who the Malian midfielder has not been linked with rather than those who are rumoured to be interested in his services.
On a day when most Albion players looked like they were already on their summer holidays, he once again stood head-and-shoulders above anyone else in yellow. That is reflected by him finishing a whole point ahead of the second best Brighton player at the Emirates, Jakub Moder.
It was somewhat laughable to see some Arsenal fans claiming that Bissouma only played so well because he wants to move to the Gunners. Sorry to break it to you guys, but he is this good each and every week.
Which is why if he does leave this summer, he should be joining a club who can win trophies and turn him into the world class player we all know he can become. That will not happen at Arsenal with their current circus.
Moder’s encouraging performance to earn second place does at least suggest that the departure of Bissouma need not be a complete disaster as the Albion appear to have a possible Polish heir apparent among their ranks.
As for the rest of those on show in Arsenal 2-0 Brighton, well it was a bit of a mixed bag as for the final time this season, we present your player ratings.
Robert Sanchez – 5.55
For a goalkeeper who has been noticeably unflappable since coming into the side in December, he did rather a lot of parrying. Nothing he could do about either of the goals.
Ben White – 5.64
Like Sanchez, he was a little below the high standards he has set for himself this season – although he was not really helped in that regard by being used at right back as Graham Potter began the afternoon with a flat back four. Typically, this happened on the day when he was being tipped for a shock call up to England’s Euro 2020 squad.
Lewis Dunk – 5.73
Restored straight to the starting line up in place of Steve Alzate following suspension. Made a couple of good blocks and tackles but maybe could have done more to prevent Nicolas Pépé’s second goal which was slid through his legs.
Adam Webster – 6.27
Finished the season strongly as he was Brighton’s best defender at Arsenal, following on from an excellent goal scoring showing in Tuesday night’s 3-2 win over Manchester City. That Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang hardly had a sniff was done to him.
Dan Burn – 5.45
It was surprising that it took Mikel Arteta 45 minutes of football to realise that Pepe could have a field day up against an exposed Dan Burn playing at left back with little cover in front of him. After the experiences against Wolves and Leicester this season, why Potter keeps putting Burn in this situation is anyone’s guess. It was a shame as bar that 15 minute spell when he had to deal with Pepe alone, he had a decent game.
Pascal Gross – 5.36
Asked questions with some set pieces. A low-key end though to what has been an outstanding campaign from the German which has been good enough to make him a dark horse for Player of the Season.
YVES BISSOUMA – 7.55
Covered every blade of grass, won tackles in front of the back four, played incisive passes to get his team on the front foot and was just off target with a low drive from distance in the second half. He has earned his chance at a bigger club and if he does move on this summer, we will watch his career with pride and enjoyment.
Jakub Moder – 6.55
Potter using Jakub Moder in a more central position than he has occupied so far in his Brighton career gave us a glimpse of what he might offer as Bissouma’s long-term replacement in the middle of the park. Had one effort blocked and forced Bernd Leno into his only save of the game in an encouraging display.
Alireza Jahanbakhsh – 5.27
A third start in a row for the Iranian but he failed to really make the most of it. Some promising runs always seem to end with terrible decision making or poor execution of a final ball, none more so than when he found himself bearing down on Leno’s goal with the options of shooting or squaring to the unmarked Leandro Trossard. In the end he did neither, merely succeeding in putting the ball straight into the arms of the grateful Leno.
Alexis Mac Allister – 5.64
It was his beautiful dummy that allowed Moder to get one of his shots away. Displayed a couple of other nice touches as the best player in what was quite a toothless attack.
Leandro Trossard – 4.91
The King of Inconsistency did it again. After scoring 9.40 in the player ratings and looking genuinely unplayable against City, he racked up a 4.91 to be the lowest ranked starter in Arsenal 2-0 Brighton. Withdrawn at half time for Aaron Connolly.
Adam Lallana – 5.45
A couple of silky moments. His biggest contribution for the second game running surprisingly came in Brighton’s own box when tracking back to prevent Martin Ødegaard doubling Arsenal’s lead shortly after Pepe’s opener.
Aaron Connolly – 3.91
His movement off the ball was good and he made a couple of encouraging runs. The less said about his diving and finishing the better, however; hitting the corner flag on the opposite side of the pitch when attempting to beat Leno one-on-one was quite astonishing.
Steve Alzate – 5.00
Introduced as part of Potter’s switch to 3-4-3. The game was already over by that point and became so pedestrian that it made a walking football session at Southwick Leisure Centre look like a frenetic El Clasico, meaning that he had little chance of making an impact.
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.
