Arsene Wenger believed Arsenal were heavy-legged and lacked confidence as they lost to Albion.

But the Gunners boss felt his side could still have salvaged a result in the second half.

Wenger said: “We had difficulty to get going and suffered a lot physically in the first half. After that, mentally as well I believe the lack of confidence, linked with the physical aspect, we lost some balls and Brighton took advantage.

“We made some defensive mistakes, too.

“It was all us in the second half but we lack a bit of sharpness and freshness.

“We have played too many games and are charged negatively on top of that because we've lost them.

Wenger felt the fact his side played on Thursday counted against them.

 He added: “I can understand the frustration. What can I say?

“The League Cup in the middle of the season makes it difficult if you don't win it.

“It brings a lot of negative waves. The one we lost brought a lot of negativity.

“On top of that, the game rearranged on Thursday night didn't help us to compete today.

"The negativity after losing the final, plus the fact we're not in a fantastic position in the league hits us hard.”