Brighton increased the pressure on Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger on Sunday, with the Seagulls securing a 2-1 win against the Gunners at the Amex.
Coming into the game on the back of three straight defeats, Arsenal started with Aaron Ramsey and Hector Bellerin.
However, their defensive frailties were once again there for all to see when after just seven minutes, Lewis Dunk fired home after Petr Cech had failed to clear a corner.
Things went from bad to worse for the visitors on 26 minutes, with Glenn Murray heading past Cech far too easily after Laurent Koscielny had initially given the ball away with a sloppy pass.
Arsenal did get one back before the break, courtesy of a clever flick from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
After the break, the Gunners dominated possession but struggled to break down Chris Hughton’s well-drilled Brighton side.
Sead Kolasinac was lucky not to see red midway through the second period, when the Bosnian, already on a yellow card, took Ezequiel Schelotto out of the game with a reckless shoulder-barge.
Aubameyang did have a decent chance to bag an equaliser late on, but overall, the Seagulls held on to secure a deserved, and precious, three points.
Brighton now go 10th, seven points clear of the drop-zone, with a second season in the Premier League looking likely.
As for the Gunners, once again the players don’t look as if they are playing for their manager anymore. Although, with a board as lethargic as Arsenal’s, a change of manager may not come as soon as most fans would like.
After the game, Cech took to Twitter to take the blame for the defeat…
If you want to win a game away of home in the best league in the world your GK can’t concede 2 goals like I did today … it’s simply not possible … The team fought back but the damage was done .
— Petr Cech (@PetrCech) March 4, 2018
However, as admirable as all that is, one wonders why the likes of Cech and his team-mates are producing such unacceptable performances on an increasingly regular basis.