Arsenal no show ends in defeat to Brighton

Caretaker manager Freddie Ljungberg said Arsenal "did not show up" for the first 45 minutes as the Gunners' winless streak reached nine games in a 2-1 home defeat to Brighton on Thursday.

Neal Maupay headed in a deserved winner for the Seagulls 10 minutes from time after Alexandre Lacazette had cancelled out Adam Webster's opener for Brighton. Defeat leaves Arsenal in 10th place and 10 points adrift of fourth-placed Chelsea in the hunt for Champions League qualification next season.

On this evidence there is little chance of Ljungberg landing the job on a permanent basis as another sparse crowd at the Emirates greeted the final whistle with a chorus of boos.

After a 2-2 draw at Norwich on Sunday in the first match since Unai Emery was sacked, there was again no sign of a new manager bounce for Ljungberg's home bow as Brighton dominated the first 45 minutes and could have gone in at the break more than one goal to the good.

"You cannot give away a whole half against any team in the Premier League," said Ljungberg.

"We did not show up in the first half, we very passive, we didn't move. We had chat at half-time, made a tactical change and all of a sudden we looked like the team we wanted to for 20 minutes."
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"They have to get a win, get some confidence. They showed at the beginning of the second half for 20 minutes what they are capable of."
"The main stat is the scoreline. At the end it's nice for the players and supporters that you get a reward for the way we are trying to play."