Premier League 2017/18: Brighton and Hove Albion 2-1 Arsenal; 5 Talking Points

Two first-half goals from Lewis Dunk and Glenn Murray gave Chris Hughton some respite heading into a series of fixtures that is sure to test their resolve to stay in the English top-flight.

Arsenal, on the other hand, succumbed to their third loss in a week and are now only barely hopefuls of making it into the UEFA Champions League through a high league finish.

Here's what we learnt from the Amex Stadium:

Arsenal's defence not Premier League top-half material

Be it the ageing of Laurent Koscielny, the error-prone-ness of Shkodran Mustafi, the inexperience of Sead Kolasinac and Calum Chambers and the slouchiness of Petr Cech, Arsenal's defence was just plain poor.

Nobody stands tall and commands during a corner-routine anymore, they don't shout and yell instructions as often and they don't draw fouls as they should - despite what the purists might opine.

Arsene Wenger reportedly told Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang that he promised him 'world-class signings' in the summer and unless he signs three or four experienced and commanding defenders, he'd have already let the Gabon man down.

Glenn Murray has been a revelation for Brighton

Brighton's counter-attacking - through the middle - is thrilling to watch

Be it the little Colombian wizard in Jose Izquierdo or the direct and speedy Anthony Knockhaert, Chris Hughton has got his side playing some incredible counter-attacking through the wings and none of that would've been possible without the main man up top in Glenn Murray.

At 34 years, he's one of the veteran strikers in the Premier League and the way he handled Arsenal's rather anxious defence today was a masterclass in how teams ought to take on the North Londoners.

Holding up the ball, using his strength and then passing it on to rushing teammates to create opportunities untied the Arsenal defence and worked like a charm.

Time for Arsenal to re-Cech their goalkeeping situation

Petr Cech is, sadly, well past his prime

Slow to the ball, uncommunicative on the field and careless in possession are all reasons why Arsenal need to find a replacement for Petr Cech come the summer.

As an experienced and wise player, Cech has reportedly done great things inside the Arsenal dressing room helping solve a lot of problems and guiding the young players through but on the field, however, it just doesn't seem to be working - both for him and the club.

It's been almost three months since he's kept a clean sheet in the Premier League and has, shockingly, made seven crucial errors leading to opposition goals - a league high.

It would be wise for the club to hold on to him either by moving him up to management or the like but they need to sign a goalkeeper who's a bit of a scoundrel, to put it lightly.

Brighton's centre-back pairing deserve solid praise

Lewis Dunk and Shane Duffy outmuscle the entire Arsenal squad

An incredible game of defending for Brighton who withstood an onslaught of Arsenal's wave after wave and the two men at the heart of it all was 26-year-old pair Lewis Dunk and Shane Duffy.

The two of them not only kept Aubameyang and the rest of Arsenal's attack silent but also connected to score their side's first goal. Strong in the tackles, loud in the instructions and commanding in the box, they kept the defending to a minimum and helped their side immensely with a massive performance.

They used their strength and height to maximum advantage and bullied Arsenal for an entire ninety minutes.

Yep.

Arsenal's bench warm despite the Beast from the East

It's been a cold couple of days in the UK with subzero temperatures hitting most parts of the island but the bench on the visitor side of the Amex Stadium was quite warm this evening.

Arsene Wenger refused to get up from the chair all first-half and only sprung up a couple of times throughout the second half only to reasons with the officials.

That piece on The Guardian about how Arsenal's dressing room think about Wenger might turn out to, surprisingly, be true. There were no instructions from the Frenchman towards his players throughout the game, those on the field were clueless most of the time and didn't seem to have any idea on how to break down the opposition.

Every major publication has been after Arsene Wenger this week asking him to resign and while that merits no reason and frankly shouldn't bother the manager, the voices that come from within the dressing room will and should.

Arsenal take on AC Milan this mid-week for the next round of the UEFA Europa League and if the manager is as uncommunicative as he was today, it's only going to get worse for his side's prospects.