Jamie Carragher called defender Jakub Kiwior ’embarrassing’ for staying down in the build-up to opener during Sunday’s 3-0 defeat at the Emirates Stadium.
The Gunners to all but end their aspirations of winning the for the first time since 2004.
Mikel Arteta’s side had already slipped four points behind defending champions but the Brighton loss means City are now just one win away from a third straight title.
While Brighton eventually secured an emphatic win in north London, the game was finely balanced for 50 minutes before Julio Enciso put Brighton ahead with a close-range header.
There was a suggestion that the goal could be disallowed after Kiwior went down in the box in the build-up but replays showed minimal contact with the Brighton goalscorer.
Former Liverpool and England defender Carragher felt it was an ’embarrassing’ moment for Kiwior and says he should have ‘got up’ and defended ‘like his life depended on it’.
‘It was embarrassing Kiwior stayed down whether it was a foul or not (it wasn’t) – there was very little wrong with him,’ Carragher tweeted. ‘Get up and defend like your life depends on it.’
Ex-Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira and Manchester United legend Roy Keane were .
But looking back at the incident, Kiwior said: ‘I felt contact and lost my boot and didn’t even see the goal. I hoped VAR would intervene and chalk off the goal, but unfortunately, the ref saw it differently.’
Following the Brighton defeat and a poor run of form over the past month, the maximum number of points Arsenal can score is 87, while Manchester City already have 85.
Pep Guardiola’s side will wrap up the title if they beat Chelsea next weekend, but still have away games against Brighton and Brentford in case they fail to beat Frank Lampard’s side.
Arsenal, though, would still need to win their final three games and conclude the 2022-23 season against Nottingham Forest and Wolves.
Asked if Arsenal’s title hopes are now over, Gunners captain Martin Odegaard said: ‘Yeah, it looks difficult now to be honest, we have to be realistic. I don’t think City are going to do too many mistakes now.
‘We just need to get back on the pitch and end the season in a good way. I think everyone deserves that, especially the fans.’
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