Mikel Arteta fails to blame Arsenal's defeat to Brighton on Partey's injury

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has said it would be an excuse to link their Premier League loss against Brighton & Hove Albion to Kieran Tierney and Thomas Partey’s injuries.

The two were not available for the Gunners when they lost 2-1 to the Seagulls at the Emirates and the Spaniard was categorical that they knew how hard the task was even without the two injured stars.

"With all the team available, we know how difficult the challenge ahead was, that’s for sure," Arteta said in his post-match reaction.

"Those two injuries [Partey’s and Tierney’s] make the situation more complicated, but we cannot look at that because we’re going to be looking for excuses.

"What happened today is down to us and the players that we have and the way we prepared the game."

Arteta also discussed whether deploying Granit Xhaka at left-back due to Partey’s injuries weakened his midfield.

"Especially with the way I thought they were going to play and the space they were going to attack, it fits well to play Emile Smith Rowe in that position.

"Especially because we thought that space was going to be there for Granit to use, which it was, but we didn’t use it."

Meanwhile, the Gunners have conceded the first goal in consecutive Premier League games for the first time since their opening three of the season. The Gunners have lost seven of their eight games when conceding first this season (W1).

The London side has also won just three of their 10 Premier League games against Brighton (30%), only having a lower win rate against Liverpool and Manchester United (both 27%) in the competition. This is the first time the Gunners have ever failed to score in consecutive meetings with the Seagulls in all competitions.

While Brighton have picked up their first win in eight league games (D1 L6), with each of their last three league victories coming away from home.