Brighton came from a goal down to produce one of the shocking football scores of the midweek action in the Carabao Cup. At the Emirates Stadium, Eddie Nketiah gave Arsenal the lead. The Seagulls responded with a Danny Welbeck penalty, but goals from Kaoru Mitoma and Tariq Lamptey in the second half put the game beyond question. It was the first time since 2011 that Brighton had defeated a top-flight team in this competition, while it was only the second occasion in 20 seasons that Arsenal had failed to advance past the third round. But if the Gunners are to keep pushing for first place in the Premier League, the loss may end up being a blessing in disguise in many ways.
A significantly altered Arsenal team scored after just 20 minutes. Nketiah gently bowed the ball past Jason Steele in the Brighton goal after Fabio Vieira’s feed-through breached the line. But the Seagulls were equal after seven minutes. On his debut, Karl Hein had a forgettable moment when the 20-year-old fell when racing out of goal to close down Welbeck and then brought him down while attempting to recover the situation. Then, Welbeck went up and shot from 12 yards away, fooling the goalie. Mikel Arteta supported his choice to sit Matt Turner and Aaron Ramsdale despite the mistake that cost them the game.
Although Nketiah rattled the inside of the post, Arsenal had a stronger second-half start and came close to scoring. But in the 58th minute, Mitoma’s finish past Hein after Jeremy Sarmiento’s run and pass found him in the area and gave Brighton the lead, 2-1. In the 71st minute, Lamptey broke into the box down the left channel, displayed his signature burst of speed, and finished under the defenseless Hein.
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