The chant from the Arsenal supporters cut through the south coast air and it laid bare the bitter frustration and the overall sense of helplessness. “We want Wenger out,” they bellowed. It was the 34th minute, their team were 2-0 down to Chris Hughton’s in-form Brighton & Hove Albion and all they could do was conclude that Arsène Wenger’s time was up.

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It is a judgment that has been reached by many but when the hardcore travelling fans broadcast it, the impression is somehow stronger, more absolute. It was certainly a dismal first half for Arsenal, even if they rallied at the end of it, and it is true that when they are bad, they are horribly so.

Brighton were very good. They punished Arsenal’s defensive slackness, in which Petr Cech was the most glaring culprit, and they might have had more during a period when Arsenal were gripped by indecision and nervousness. On the back of goals from Lewis Dunk and Glenn Murray, this was a win that reinforced the sense that Hughton and Brighton are staying up – and with a degree of comfort.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang got Arsenal back into it with a close-range finish in the 43rd minute and even then the reaction from the away support was sarcastic. “We’ve scored a goal,” they chorused. Wenger’s team pressed hard on to the front foot thereafter but, although they enjoyed the territorial advantage and hogged 68% of possession, they failed to create too much of clear-cut note. They sorely lacked sharpness. Their away-day travails go on – they have now taken only 13 points from 15 matches this season.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Arsène Wenger cut a forlorn figure on Arsenal’s bench. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

Wenger tried to draw an analogy afterwards between Arsenal and a naked man, who had been left exposed. He talked about the need to rebuild – or get dressed properly – although he rather got himself into a tangle. It was nothing compared to how his team slumped after a decent enough opening five minutes.

Brighton’s first forward thrust through Ezequiel Schelotto had set the alarm bells ringing and it led to a debatable corner, which Pascal Gross stood up towards the far post. It looked like one for Cech to claim except that he got himself boxed in and, rather abruptly, there was Shane Duffy going up for the ball with him and winning it. From Duffy’s header, Dunk stretched to steer home.

It was the prompt for Arsenal to fall apart. Wenger described his team as “passive, struggling for confidence and heavy-legged” from the concession of the first goal to about the 40-minute mark and that was putting it kindly. It was the kind of period to give him nightmares.

There were excruciatingly few options for the man in possession; so little movement ahead of the ball – tell-tale signs of rock bottom self-belief – and the errors duly followed. Alex Iwobi lost the ball when he had nothing on and, in a flash, Gross had supplied Anthony Knockaert and he was denied by a smart Cech block. Cech had previously saved from Gross while Brighton threatened from further corners. Dunk sent one free header over the bar.

Brighton’s second goal followed a loose Laurent Koscielny pass out from the back and they worked it to Gross on the right. Shkodran Mustafi allowed Murray too much space behind him and, when Gross crossed, the striker headed down and in. The ball squirmed underneath Cech too easily.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Lewis Dunk celebrates after giving Brighton the lead. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

Arsenal’s frustration was summed up when Jack Wilshere jumped into a wild tackle on Knockaert in the 40th minute and was booked. It felt as though he wanted to send a message to his team-mates – they had to show some fight.

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Arsenal did respond and, almost implausibly, they might have been level at the interval. Aubameyang, who had seen an early shot blocked by Duffy, touched home from Granit Xhaka’s pass, after good work by Iwobi. And on 44 minutes Koscielny rose to flick a deflected header on to the post from Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s cross.

Wenger had omitted Héctor Bellerín, Aaron Ramsey and Danny Welbeck from his starting line-up with an eye on Thursday’s Europa League tie at Milan but he must have reasoned there was enough on the field to get a result.

They were a little better in the second half. Mesut Özil drove at the area and extended Mathew Ryan and Aubameyang rounded Ryan only to see the goalkeeper get back. It was nowhere near enough.

Sead Kolasinac escaped a second booking after he cleaned out Schelotto, although Hughton said there was “nothing malicious” to the barge. Schelotto was forced off, having seen stars, and he looked to have recovered afterwards. But when Aubameyang could not squeeze his shot past Ryan in stoppage time, there would be no escape for Arsenal.