Mikel Arteta Reveals Who Is to Blame for Arsenal's Sloppy Defeat to Brighton

• Mikel Arteta has hit out at his Arsenal players following their 2-1 defeat against Brighton at the Emirates Stadium
• Fresh from their 3-0 loss to Crystal Palace, the Gunners were unable to get their EPL campaign back in control when they faced Brighton
• Their loss to Brighton now leaves them sitting fifth on the Premier League standings with 54 points, three behind fourth-placed Spurs

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has slammed his charges following their 2-1 defeat to Brighton at the Emirates on Saturday, April 9.

The Gunners were looking to make amends for their previous 3-0 loss to Crystal Palace when they hosted Brighton in London.

However, they were unable to get the better of the Seagulls as they fell to another Premier League loss.

How Arsenal lost to Brighton

Arteta's men were far off the required standard during their meeting with Brighton as the visitors showed intent to put the game to bed from the early exchanges.

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Leandro Trossard fired home the opener before the half-hour mark to punish another tame opening spell from Arteta's side, with Gabriel Martinelli having his header on the stroke of half-time scrubbed off by VAR for an offside.

The second half of the match saw Enock Mwepu convert a fine half-volley in the 67th minute to put the visitors in control.

While Martin Odegaard was able to pull one back for the hosts in the 89th minute with a deflected long-range hit, it was not enough to stop Brighton from securing their first win in seven outings.

Mikel Arteta hits out at his players

Arteta has now picked out his players for blame after his side's loss, citing their approach as the key factor that influenced the result.

“We were sloppy on the ball again, we were second best in several situations, we didn’t gain any momentum, we didn’t show any purpose in the game, we didn’t play with the right speed and transform the game that Brighton proposed today," he said as quoted by Express UK.

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“It’s not a problem of attitude. For me, it was a problem of the approach and the courage that we showed to play," he added.

Arsenal enter race to sign Neves

Earlier, Sports Brief reported Arsenal appear to have renewed their interest in signing Wolves midfielder Ruben Neves ahead of the summer transfer window.

The Gunners are said to have shortlisted Neves on their transfer wishlist, with Mikel Arteta reportedly keen to bolster his midfield options.

However, the north Londoners will have to contend with growing competition for Neves, with a number of clubs including Man United believed to be monitoring him.