EPL PIX: Arsenal slump to first home defeat; Controversial win for Newcastle

Images from the English Premier League matches played on Thursday

Arsenal lost to Brighton & Hove Albion at home for the first time ever on Thursday night as goals by Adam Webster and Neal Maupay lifted the visitors to a 2-1 victory in the Premier League.

Arsenal, who fired Unai Emery as manager last week and appointed former player Freddie Ljungberg as caretaker boss, now sit 10th in the table on 19 points, with Brighton a single point behind and three places below them.

"Of course, it's disappointing but we've got to keep on going," Ljungberg told reporters.

"The players are low on confidence, I think you can see that.

"We're in a difficult situation. We started the game flat with no energy. It's my job to get them to be aggressive and play with energy."

Brighton had an early chance when Arsenal defender Hector Bellerin brought down Aaron Connolly on the edge of the area, but Pascal Gross blasted his free kick straight into the Arsenal wall.

The visitors poured forward, with Maupay whipping in a shot from a tight angle that raced narrowly past keeper Bernd Leno's far post.

Their pressure finally paid off in the 36th minute when centre back Webster pounced on the ball as it broke loose after a corner, poking home past Leno to give the visitors the lead.

Arsenal's Alexandre Lacazette equalised five minutes into the second half with a high looping header from a Mesut Ozil corner which bounced in off the far post.

The home side briefly thought they had taken the lead when David Luiz shanked the ball home from a free kick, only for the Brazilian to be found clearly offside by VAR.

Instead, Brighton's Maupay headed a cross from Aaron Mooy into the far corner past Leno in the 80th minute to give Potter's side a historic win in north London.

"It's fantastic to get the three points here tonight," Potter told reporters.

"I'm proud of the players. They stuck at it and managed the situations quite well, and played well against some talented players, and a nice winning goal -- a bit of quality from us," he added.

"Maybe it gives us confidence that we're on the path to doing something."

Newcastle dig deep for 2-0 victory at Sheffield United

Newcastle United's Allan Saint-Maximin netted an early header before a controversial Jonjoy Shelvey goal secured a 2-0 win at Sheffield United in the Premier League on Thursday.

French forward Saint-Maximin fired the visitors ahead in the 15th minute with his first goal for the club and Shelvey scored in the 70th after Andy Carroll, who nodded the ball into his path, was given offside before VAR ruled the goal should stand.

The linesman had raised his flag and the home team's defenders went with the on-pitch decision but Shelvey carried on and raced clear to steer the ball past goalkeeper Dean Henderson before the video review confirmed that Carroll was onside.

Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder was incensed with how the incident panned out.

"Everyone in the ground stopped," he told the BBC.

"Jonjo Shelvey even nonchalantly went up and took an opportunity. His body language said to me he had seen the linesman had put the flag up.

"The game has changed. This game now is completely different to what I experienced as a 16-year-old lad as an apprentice. I don't know where it is going and it is sucking the life out of me and the supporters.

"We'll get told it's new, we're all learning about it. I'm not sure I want to learn about it, I'm a bit fed up with it."

While the controversy surrounding the goal is likely to stir up more debate on the use of VAR, the evening's plaudits will go to Newcastle goalkeeper Martin Dubravka who pulled off a string of superb saves to keep the Blades at bay.

Saint-Maximin got on the end of Javier Manquillo's cross against the run of play as Dubravka kept frustrating the home side, having denied Oliver McBurnie and Enda Stevens before he palmed away a ferocious Oliver Norwood free kick.

Dubravka tipped over a close-range McBurnie header and, with the home team's onslaught fizzing out, Shelvey took advantage to confirm ninth-placed United's first league defeat in eight games and lift Newcastle to 11th, also on 19 points from 15 games.

Magpies boss Steve Bruce defended the decision to allow Shelvey's goal.

"Ultimately the right decision was made," he said.

"I have to say well done to the referee for not blowing his whistle and to Jonjo. They were told to keep going at the start of the season until they hear the whistle.

"We had to dig in, especially first-half, but our attitude was terrific again."