Arsenal were beaten 2-1 by Brighton & Hove Albion at the Emirates Stadium last night.
Arsenal were beaten 2-1 by Brighton last night and they were largely outplayed by Graham Potter’s men.
Brighton were well their three points at the Emirates Stadium, and Pardew felt that Potter’s tactics got the better of Arsenal.
Brighton’s wide players would often tuck inside when the Seagulls had possession, which created problems for an Arsenal midfield which were outnumbered.
And Pardew felt that Xhaka, who isn’t the most mobile of defensive midfielders, really struggled to get to grips with the game.
“If you’re looking at it tactically what Brighton did well today is that the two wide players came very narrow and they outnumbered Arsenal in that midfield area and had so much time. Xhaka was never going to get near anyone,” Pardew said.
“This is a fundamental problem when you give a team too much space.”
Xhaka’s inclusion in Arsenal’s team has been somewhat of a surprise since Freddie Ljungberg took charge.
When Unai Emery left it was widely expected that Xhaka would be taken out of Arsenal’s team, but the interim boss has kept faith in the Swiss international.
So far Ljungberg has been unable to spark a reaction since taking charge at Arsenal, with the Gunners failing to win either of his games in charge.
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