'Flabbergasted' - Paul Merson tears into Brighton boss Potter after Arsenal loss

The Albion manager rang the changes for his side’s 1-0 loss against the struggling Gunners, with high-profile talents such as Neal Maupay, Danny Welbeck, Solly March, and Ben White all absent from the starting lineup.

The Seagulls were eventually undone by a second-half strike from Alexandre Lacazette, but speaking on Sky Sports News’ Soccer Saturday, Merson admitted that he was baffled Potter’s decision-making from the first whistle.

The pundit went on to argue that Saturday evening’s clash against Wolves now represents a must-win game for the Albion boss, who he believes has put himself under unnecessary pressure.

“When the team came through I was flabbergasted”, he said.

"I couldn’t catch my breath.

"Sometimes people are too clever for their own good. I think they read into too much.

"Players want to play football. You don’t want to train.

“You can’t tell me all these players that never played didn’t have to do any running after the game or before the game or whenever. It wouldn’t have been a rest.

"I mean, Arsenal were there for the taking. I know they had a great result against Chelsea, but take that result away, this was a big match for Brighton.

"They’re hovering above relegation and they’re changing all their players. You need to keep on going.

"Welbeck’s going along, playing well, and Maupay – they’re your goalscorers. They have to play. They have to play for me. It backfired and he got what he deserved. He got what he deserved.

"If they had won the game everybody would have been going, ‘Oh my god, he’ll be managing Arsenal next’, but he never.

"You’ve got to stand up when you get it horribly wrong like that. I think sometimes because there’s no crowds in the stadium, managers are doing this. If that’s a full house do you do that? I don’t personally think so. I think it’s a different team.

"I think he got carried away, and he needs to win today now. He’s put all the pressure on himself. For how great he’s been and how well he’s done, all I keep hearing myself say is, ‘Brighton played well, but they never won’ – every week.”