Arsenal nightmare continues with home defeat to Brighton
Arsenal manager Freddie Ljungberg couldn't hide his disappointment as the team hit a new low on Thursday, suffering their first ever home defeat to Brighton.
Arsenal suffered their firsr ever home defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion as goals by Adam Webster and Neal Maupay lifted the visitors to a 1-2 victory in the Premier League on Thursday. Arsenal, who fired Unai Emery as manager last week and appointed former player Freddie Ljungberg as caretaker boss, now sit 10th in the table on 19 points, with Brighton a single point behind and three places below them.
Ljungberg disappointed as Gunners hit new low
"Of course, it's disappointing but we've got to keep on going," Ljungberg said. "The players are low on confidence, I think you can see that. We're in a difficult situation. We started the game flat with no energy. It's my job to get them to be aggressive and play with energy".
Brighton had an early chance when Arsenal defender Héctor Bellerín brought down Aaron Connolly on the edge of the area, but Pascal Gross blasted his free kick straight into the Arsenal wall. The visitors poured forward, with Maupay whipping in a shot from a tight angle that raced narrowly past keeper Bernd Leno's far post. Their pressure finally paid off in the 36th minute when centre back Webster pounced on the ball as it broke loose after a corner, poking home past Leno to give the visitors the lead.
Maupay nods in the winner for Brighton
Arsenal's Alexandre Lacazette equalised five minutes into the second half with a high looping header from a Mesut Özil corner which bounced in off the far post. The home side briefly thought they had taken the lead when David Luiz shanked the ball home from a free kick, only for the Brazilian to be found clearly offside by VAR. Instead, Brighton's Maupay headed a cross from Aaron Mooy into the far corner past Leno in the 80th minute to give Potter's side a historic win in north London. "Credit to our players, they did what I think an away team has to do in terms of frustrating, but it still takes courage from the players and that's what I'm pleased with," Brighton manager Graham Potter beamed after the game.