We asked four long-time Albion fans for their thoughts on the end-of-term fixture at Arsenal.
Then, perhaps more importantly, we asked whether the Seagulls are well-placed to make progress in the 2021-22 campaign.
1. What were your thoughts on Albion’s performance?
Colin Beales: A very average performance from a pretty threadbare squad. Our lack of attacking options certainly was apparent, missing Welbeck and Maupay’s presence. Arsenal seemed to show that little bit extra effort and quality that gave them a deserved win. Unfortunately Pepe seems to enjoy playing against us.
Tim Ayling: I think Potter was fairly accurate in that Arsenal were very good, and we weren´t. It was understandable given the efforts on Tuesday night and it being a dead rubber. We didn’t click up-front at all, and I don’t think four at the back suits us as a team. It was a shame we didn’t see Caicedo get half an hour too.
Alan Brownings: It was a typical end of season game. Arsenal had something to play for and the Albion didn’t. As a result we were second best.
James Heasman: I think this was a classic end of season performance. We had very little impact up front, and generally it looked like a few of the team were struggling after the excellent performance on Tuesday.
2. Who was your pick of the Albion players?
Colin Beales: Bissouma again was decent but even though we conceded twice I will go with Adam Webster for this one. I thought he was pretty solid throughout.
Tim Ayling: Bissouma and Moder were the pick for me. They are both excellent young players and the future is bright. I can see Moder scoring a few goals next season, which would be useful!
Alan Brownings: Bissouma looked good value again but Moder did enough to get my vote and fairly close to scoring in the second half.
James Heasman: As always Yves Bissouma was excellent and surely must be in for player of the season, but I will go for Adam Webster, who marked Aubameyang out of the game and capped off a good, consistent season for him personally.
3. Are Albion well-placed to kick on and progress next season – and why (or why not)?
Colin Beales: With our longest time in the top flight now secured Potter has revolutionised the team, how we play and injected youth into our set-up. I truly believe we will push on with or without new signings next season. We have been remarkably unlucky, frustrating or wasteful depending on your viewpoint this season. I would say it has probably been a mix of all three of these that I believe we can push away from being in a relegation scrap every season.
Tim Ayling: The future looks great for the Albion, with so much quality coming through. There will be a lot of work going on about recruitment, and it wouldn’t surprise me to see Connolly and Zeqiri going out on loan with another striker coming in. But with players on loan impressing, such as Taylor Richards, Ostigard,and Van Hecke, we now seem to have a conveyor belt. Exciting times!
Alan Brownings: I want to say yes but I just can’t see it at the minute. We consistently fail to beat the teams around us and have dropped far too many points from winning positions. If Bissouma moves on it will leave a gaping hole in midfield and obviously our striker problem hasn’t gone away, it’s hard to believe there’ll be enough money around to splash out in the summer.
BRIGHTON AND GRAHAM POTTER HAPPY TO IGNORE TOTTENHAM TALK
James Heasman: Overall, we have progressed and the football is very good, but goals win games and there cannot be any doubt that we are not clinical enough. If Bissouma or White do leave, it is important we reinvest the money in at least one, but perhaps two new forwards, as without those the team will continue to struggle.
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