Arsenal's most disappointing defeats this season

Bukayo Saka


Arsenal's most disappointing defeats this season

By James Reid

It has been a bit of a rollercoaster for Arsenal this season, and despite all the trials and tribulations the Gunners have a real chance of Champions League football with just four games left to play. 


However, while there have been plenty of great results this season, Arsenal have had their fair share of bad results too. 


We took a look back at some of the most disappointing defeats this season. 



Brentford 2-0 Arsenal  



What better place to start than the first game of the season? 


The start of a new season always brings fresh and optimism, but that was quickly dampened by defeat to newly-promoted Brentford on the first day of term. 


Sergi Canos opened the scoring in Brentford’s first ever Premier League game just after 20 minutes and Christian Norgaard scored after the break to cap a nightmare start to the season for Arsenal.


The Gunners never looked like really troubling Brentford who were by far the better side on the day. 



Manchester City 5-0 Arsenal  


August was not kind to Arsenal, with three league defeats in a row the story of the Gunners’ first month of the season.  


Defeat to Brentford was followed by a 2-0 loss to Chelsea, but having five put past them by Manchester City particularly stung. 


City looked in a completely different league to Arsenal at the Etihad as the reigning champions took full advantage of the Gunners’ lacklustre start to the season and Granit Xhaka’s first-half red card. 


Ilkay Gündogan got a torrid afternoon started after just seven minutes before Ferran Torres made it two inside a quarter of an hour. 


Jack Grealish made it three before the break and Rodri and Torres added two more to complete the rout. 



Nottingham Forest 1-0 Arsenal  



Arsenal’s record in the FA Cup in recent years has been fantastic, apart from, it seems, when they draw Nottingham Forest. 


Forest knocked the Gunners out of the competition in 2018 as Eric Lichaj scored a brace, and repeated the feat four years later as Lewis Grabban scored a late winner at the City Ground. 


As the game dragged on in the Midlands there was a growing sense that an upset was on the cards as Arsenal’s young side struggled to cope with Forest, and football league stalwart Grabban duly grabbed the only goal of the game seven minutes from time. 


It condemned Arsenal to an embarrassing defeat in a competition that has served them so well over the last decade. 



Crystal Palace 3-0 Arsenal



With the race for the top four hotting up, Crystal Palace away on a Monday night always looked to be a potential banana skin for Mikel Arteta’s side. 


After all, who can forget the way Liverpool’s title bid fell apart in such dramatic circumstances eight years ago in South London? 


Yet few people would have predicted the way Arsenal capitulated against Patrick Vieira’s Palace to lose 3-0 and put their top four hopes in real jeopardy. 


Jean-Philippe Mateta opened the scoring after 16 minutes and Palace were two up inside 24 minutes thanks to Jordan Ayew. 


The Gunners strove to get back into the game, but their evening was made even worse as Wilfried Zaha fired home a penalty after the break and Thomas Partey went off injured to cap a bad evening all round. 



Arsenal 1-2 Brighton 



It went from bad to worse for the Gunners off the back of the Palace defeat, as the week was compounded with a loss at home to Brighton. 


Needing a win to bounce back from defeat earlier in the week and get their top four chase back on track, Leandro Trossard grabbed the opener for Brighton after half an hour before Enock Mwepu made it two. 


Martin Ødegaard got a late consolation but it was not enough as the Gunners lost yet more ground in the race for Champions League football. 


Photo credit: Getty Images

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