Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard has conceded that the club's Premier League title challenge is over after Sunday's 3-0 home defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion.
Second-half goals from Julio Enciso, Deniz Undav, and Pervis Estupinan at the Emirates earned Brighton an impressive win, but left Arsenal four points behind leaders Manchester City with two games left. City, therefore need to win just one of their three remaining fixtures to successfully defend the title.
“It looks difficult to be honest, we have to be realistic, I don’t think City are going to make many mistakes now," Odegaard said. “The only thing we can do now is get back and finish the season in a good way, I think everyone deserves that, especially the fans. That’s the only thing we can do and we’ll have to see."
Until the start of this month, Arsenal had led the standings for all but one round once they reached top spot after the third week of the season. However, a recent run of three draws and a defeat to City – combined with City's 11-match winning run – opened the door to Pep Guardiola's side, who are now on the brink of their third successive title.
“We’ve done a lot of good things [this season], but at the moment it’s just disappointing the way we ended. Especially the three games before the Chelsea game, and then this game today," said Odegaard, who has had a superb season, scoring 15 league goals.
“I think it’s a good sign as well that we are disappointed at the moment, we just have to make sure we keep improving. We’re just going to get better and better all the time and that’s the aim.”
Assessing the performance against Brighton, Odegaard admitted Arsenal's level dropped in the second half, which allowed the visitors to capitalise on their chances.
“The first half we did OK with the high press, we won the ball a few times there and it could’ve been dangerous,” the Norwegian midfielder said. “We could’ve scored some goals there, but then second half, I think the game changed a bit.
“We didn’t do the high press as well as in the first, and when they went direct it was a bit too easy for them to get through and in the end the goals were a bit easy, I don’t know why at the moment – it was frustrating.”
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta apologised to the fans for the defeat and urged his players to bounce back and finish the season as strong as possible.
Arsenal v Brighton player ratings
“First of all we have to apologise. Last week we were really proud and we stood with our chest out after the performance against Newcastle, and today we have to apologise for what happened in that second half. That is nowhere near the level that we have to show as a team and as a club," he said.
“At first, it was extremely competitive and we expected that, there were a lot of interruptions in the game and we were a little thrown. We had some big opportunities after regaining the ball very high up the pitch, and then the second half was a different story.
“We started to lose a lot of duels, and obviously the way we conceded the goals is just unacceptable that this level, and after that we had no answers to get back into the game.
“We have to live with the emotion that we have right now that we fell short and it wasn’t good enough. We’re going to have to use that to play the next game at a very different pace and quality.”
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
MATCH INFO
Who: UAE v USA
What: first T20 international
When: Friday, 2pm
Where: ICC Academy in Dubai
The biog
Favourite book: You Are the Placebo – Making your mind matter, by Dr Joe Dispenza
Hobby: Running and watching Welsh rugby
Travel destination: Cyprus in the summer
Life goals: To be an aspirational and passionate University educator, enjoy life, be healthy and be the best dad possible.
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THE BIO: Martin Van Almsick
Hometown: Cologne, Germany
Family: Wife Hanan Ahmed and their three children, Marrah (23), Tibijan (19), Amon (13)
Favourite dessert: Umm Ali with dark camel milk chocolate flakes
Favourite hobby: Football
Breakfast routine: a tall glass of camel milk
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Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Villains
Queens of the Stone Age
Matador
EPL's youngest
- Ethan Nwaneri (Arsenal)
15 years, 181 days old
- Max Dowman (Arsenal)
15 years, 235 days old
- Jeremy Monga (Leicester)
15 years, 271 days old
- Harvey Elliott (Fulham)
16 years, 30 days old
- Matthew Briggs (Fulham)
16 years, 68 days old
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Ashes 2019 schedule
August 1-5: First Test, Edgbaston
August 14-18: Second Test, Lord's
August 22-26: Third Test, Headingley
September 4-8: Fourth Test, Old Trafford
September 12-16: Fifth Test, Oval
UAE%20PREMIERSHIP
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AIR
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Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
Result
2.15pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,950m; Winner: Majestic Thunder, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Satish Seemar (trainer).
2.45pm: Handicap Dh80,000 1,800m; Winner: Tailor’s Row, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer.
3.15pm: Handicap Dh85,000 1,600m; Winner: Native Appeal, Adam McLean, Doug Watson.
3.45pm: Handicap Dh115,000 1,950m; Winner: Conclusion, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi.
4.15pm: Handicap Dh100,000 1,400m; Winner: Pilgrim’s Treasure, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.
4.45pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,400m; Winner: Sanad Libya, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
5.15pm: Handicap Dh90,000 1,000m; Winner: Midlander, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar