Martin Odegaard admits Arsenal title challenge is over after defeat to Brighton

Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard has conceded that the club's Premier League title challenge is over after Sunday's 3-0 home defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion.

Second-half goals from Julio Enciso, Deniz Undav, and Pervis Estupinan at the Emirates earned Brighton an impressive win, but left Arsenal four points behind leaders Manchester City with two games left. City, therefore need to win just one of their three remaining fixtures to successfully defend the title.

“It looks difficult to be honest, we have to be realistic, I don’t think City are going to make many mistakes now," Odegaard said. “The only thing we can do now is get back and finish the season in a good way, I think everyone deserves that, especially the fans. That’s the only thing we can do and we’ll have to see."

Until the start of this month, Arsenal had led the standings for all but one round once they reached top spot after the third week of the season. However, a recent run of three draws and a defeat to City – combined with City's 11-match winning run – opened the door to Pep Guardiola's side, who are now on the brink of their third successive title.

“We’ve done a lot of good things [this season], but at the moment it’s just disappointing the way we ended. Especially the three games before the Chelsea game, and then this game today," said Odegaard, who has had a superb season, scoring 15 league goals.

“I think it’s a good sign as well that we are disappointed at the moment, we just have to make sure we keep improving. We’re just going to get better and better all the time and that’s the aim.”

Assessing the performance against Brighton, Odegaard admitted Arsenal's level dropped in the second half, which allowed the visitors to capitalise on their chances.