In Freddie Ljungberg’s first home match in charge since becoming our interim head coach, we made a bright start – but soon the visitors started to take control. Arsenal's winless streak extends to nine games as Brighton claim deserved victory at the Emirates
Neal Maupay fired one shot across the face of goal that somehow evaded the foot of Aaron Connolly, before Bern Leno was called into action to deny the former after he took aim from distance.
Our goalkeeper was called upon again soon afterwards to palm away Davy Propper’s shot, but two minutes later the Seagulls took the lead when Adam Webster poked in after a scramble in the area.
Joe Willock had a close-range header saved by Mat Ryan before the interval, but having been unable to make the breakthrough, Ljungberg brought on Nicolas Pepe for the second half.
We needed more, and we soon got it as Alex Lacazette equalised, meeting a corner and send a looping header to the back post where it just crept in.
The crowd responded as we continued to drive forward and threaten, although Brighton were dangerous on the break and we were again indebted to Leno as he denied Maupay from close range.
David Luiz soon had a goal disallowed for offside after a VAR check, before the visitors retook the lead when Mooy crossed for Maupay to head into the far corner.
Gabriel Martinelli came close with a glancing header than Mat Ryan did well to palm away as the game neared stoppage time, while Nicolas Pepe saw a free kick fly inches wide.
But there was no way through, and our winless run in the Premier League extended to nine games.
The Gunners have now gone nine games without a win after losing 2-1 to Brighton at Emirates Stadium
Freddie Ljungberg was just a month old the last time Arsenal went nine games without a win.
But tonight, in his first home match as interim boss, the Swede saw his side equal their worst run in 42 years following a 1-1 draw with Brighton.
You have to go back to March 1977 to find a run as wretched as the one Arsenal are on right now. That’s how bad things have got.
Ljungberg has overseen the last two games and although there have been some signs of promise in both, it’s tough to really say there has been a marked improvement since the sacking of Unai Emery.
If the Arsenal hierarchy had hoped Ljungberg’s appointment would bring with it the famed ‘new manager bounce’ they will have been left disappointed.
The hosts were awful for large parts of tonight’s game, just as they have been all season. There was no energy, no desire and very little quality.
The introduction of Nicolas Pepe at half-time for the dismal Joe Willock did lead to a slight improvement and when Alexandre Lacazette’s header from Mesut Ozil’s corner looped in at the back post to cancel out Adam Webster’s first half opener, it looked like Arsenal might go on to claim a first win since beating Bournemouth 1-0 in October.
But Brighton rode their luck for a 15-minute spell, with David Luiz seeing a goal cancelled out by VAR for offside, and then snatched the winner through Neal Maupay’s fine glancing header.
Arsenal Lacazette Ljungberg
It was the Seagulls’ first ever win at Arsenal and it was one they thoroughly deserved. They arrived here having lost their last four away games and were without a win in six on their travels, but they largely dominated an Arsenal side who now sit 10th in the Premier League, just five points above the relegation zone.
Ljungberg will have known the size of the task facing him when he took this job on, but even he will have been surprised by the lack of reaction from his players during the past seven days.
Brighton had 20 shots tonight, Arsenal just 12. The visitors could have, and probably should have, won by more.
Publicly Arsenal have said they will not be rushed into appointing a permanent successor for Emery. "It's about finding the right candidate, not the first candidate," said Josh Kroenke.
But what the past two games against Norwich and Brighton have shown us is that Arsenal desperately need a strong coach to come in and fix the mess that year's of stagnantion have left behind.
It feels unfair to ask Ljungberg to deal with this. He is a club man and will give it his all, but a decisive decision needs to be made because this is a ship that is sinking fast.
Arsenal go to West Ham next before starting a run of five games which includes Manchester City, Everton, Chelsea and Manchester United.
Things are bad now, very bad - but they could get even worse. You sense that Arsenal haven't even hit rock bottom yet and that should be a very scary prospect for those in the corridors of power at Emirates Stadium.
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