Arsenal’s away-day troubles continued at the AMEX Stadium as Jurgen Locadia’s first goal since his Premier League debut earned Brighton and Hove Albion a 1-1 draw.
The Gunners have failed to win four of their last five league matches on the road and they were guilty of throwing away two points on Wednesday as Locadia profited from Stephan Lichtsteiner’s mistake to end a 17-game goalless run.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – the Premier League’s top goalscorer – had put the Gunners ahead, but holding onto all three points proved a step too far for Unai Emery’s stuttering side.
Arsenal have now won two of their last five league outings and could find themselves two points off the top four if Chelsea beat Watford later on Boxing Day.
Aubameyang almost opened the scoring in the fourth minute with a cute lob from Matteo Guendouzi’s pass, but Mat Ryan was able to tip his effort over the bar.
There was nothing the Australia international could do three minutes later as Alexandre Lacazette shifted the ball to Aubameyang, who made no mistake in finding the top corner.
Eventually Brighton settled but Arsenal should have doubled their lead on the half hour, Aubameyang denied by a superb save from Ryan after collecting a Lucas Torreira pass on his chest.
Ryan’s stop proved crucial as the hosts levelled soon after, Davy Propper launching a counter-attack following an Arsenal corner that Locadia pounced on to score – the forward helped by Lichtsteiner’s inability to clear.
Propper could – and perhaps should – have given Brighton the lead in the early stages of the second half, the midfielder heading wide from Solly March’s pinpoint cross.
Opportunities in the second half proved few and far between, with the March and Locadia wasting the chance to be Brighton’s matchwinner in the final 15 minutes.