Fan View: Arsenal still have lot to prove in title race

That was evident in their 1-0 loss to in-form Aston Villa at Villa Park on Saturday evening, with the Gunners falling to defeat despite being the better side for much of the game.

Villa took an early lead through John McGinn with an excellent team move to put Mikel Arteta's men on the back foot, but they responded well, bouncing back into the game to take control of the ball and the chances.

With the usual suffocating play, Arsenal limited Villa to few chances from that point on, and took advantage of their high line to create several threatening openings but paid the price for too many missed chances.

Arsenal ended up on the wrong side of a couple of late decisions with a 92nd-minute goal for Eddie Nketiah chalked off as well as an elbow on Nketiah going unnoticed by VAR. Ultimately, it raised a lesson for Arsenal and showed they still have a lot to prove. 

Arteta has rightly or wrongly made refereeing a big deal in Arsenal’s games throughout the season so far, and the fact is that the Gunners are going to have to deal with the consequences of that.

At the end of the day, it means having to play better, taking chances, and cutting out mistakes at the back, but Arsenal have made it harder for themselves by attacking referees.

Another area of concern still to prove is the depth behind the starting 11 as we saw in the 1-1 Champions League draw with PSV in midweek. 

As the group was already won, Arteta fielded a much-changed side, but that exposed a few of the issues in the squad at the moment - particularly at the back and in attacking midfield, where Arsenal are light. 

It’s understandable given injuries, but the Gunners need to do a better job at adapting to absentees as this has been an ongoing problem since Arteta joined the club.

Europa League hopefuls Brighton are the visitors to Emirates Stadium on Sunday (2pm) as Arsenal look to get back to winning ways.

Roberto De Zerbi's Seagulls won 3-0 in the corresponding fixture last season.