Frenchman Neal Maupay rubs salt into Arsenal wounds with late Brighton winner

Arsenal slumped to a last-gasp 2-1 Premier League defeat at relegation-threatened Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday in a blow to the London club’s chances of securing European football next season.

Frenchman Neal Maupay struck the winner five minutes into stoppage time after Nicolas Pepe’s delightful second-half opener had been cancelled out by Lewis Dunk.

The defeat left the Gunners, who lost keeper Bernd Leno to injury in the first half, in ninth place with 40 points from 30 games, six behind fifth-placed Manchester United.

The result came three days after Mikel Arteta’s side suffered a 3-0 rout at Manchester City as the Premier League returned after a three-month hiatus due to the coronavirus health crisis.

Brighton are 15th on 32 points, five points above third-from-bottom Bournemouth, who have a game in hand.

Arsenal had four attempts in the opening 10 minutes - more than in the entire game against Manchester City - but they still could not find the net.

Their best chance came in the 31st minute when Alexandre Lacazette’s header was tipped away by Mathew Ryan after the Frenchman had been set up by Bukayo Saka, Arsenal’s most dangerous player who struck the bar in the eighth minute.

Leno was carried off the pitch on a stretcher in the 40th minute with a possible knee injury after a tussle with Maupay.

He was replaced by Emiliano Martinez, who made his first Premier League appearance since 2017 and was tested right away by Aaron Mooy.

Pepe broke the deadlock in the 68th with a splendid curled effort into the far top corner.

It took Brighton seven minutes to level, with Dunk forcing the ball in after Maupay’s header had been blocked on the line by Rob Holding following a corner.

Five minutes into stoppage time, substitute Alexis Mac Allister played the ball forward and Maupay collected it after letting it run through his legs and flicked it past the keeper to inflict a second consecutive defeat on Arsenal.

Watford Vs Leicester

Elsewhere, Watford’s Craig Dawson grabbed a stoppage-time equaliser with an overhead kick to earn his side a 1-1 draw with Leicester City on Saturday and a vital point in their battle for Premier League survival.

England full back Ben Chilwell had put third-placed Leicester ahead in the 90th minute with a thunderous shot, before Dawson’s acrobatic finish lifted Watford provisionally a point clear of the relegation zone.

“It came off the defender’s toe and fell to Craig Dawson,” Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers said. “They have so many bodies in the box and it is one of those things. Just unfortunate.”

Watford midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure created the best chance of the opening half, firing straight at Kasper Schmeichel after a defensive error by Leicester’s Wilfred Ndidi.

Soon after halftime Watford’s Etienne Capoue produced a defence-splitting pass to send Ismaila Sarr clean through on goal but Schmeichel made an another excellent block from close range with an outstretched hand.

Having failed to record a single effort on target in the first half, Leicester created the majority of chances in the closing stages and went close when Marc Albrighton’s effort hit the post.

Leicester thought they had secured their first league win at Vicarage Road since 2016 with Chilwell’s strike, but defender Dawson had other ideas.

“It was obviously a very important goal and it was good to get a point in the end,” said Dawson after scoring his first goal for Watford.

“There was tiredness in the second half. But credit to the lads. You can hear the lads who are not playing and the noise they made when the goal went in.”

Watford manager Nigel Pearson was particularly impressed with how his players adjusted to playing without fans.

“We have some who thrive on the emotional attachments with the fans on matchday. But they have to deal with that,” he added.

“To concede so late on is a real difficult thing to deal with. But we deserved something from the game. It is a valuable point.”

Watford moved to 16th place in the table with 28 points, while Leicester remained third and six points clear of fourth-placed Chelsea.