'Maybe Jason Steele can play full back' - Roberto De Zerbi gives concerning update on Joel Veltman injury

The Dutch defender has remained fit all season but has now been added to an injury list, which includes fellow full-backs Pervis Estupinan and Tariq Lamptey.

Veltman was substituted with a knee injury during the first-half against Arsenal – and was replaced by Jack Hinshelwood.

"It's an important problem,” De Zerbi, when asked for an update on Veltman. “He feels pain on knee, [so] it's difficult.

"We have to find the solution. Maybe Jason [Steele] can play full back.”

De Zerbi had no complaints with the result at the Emirates after a dominant Arsenal performance.

“Arsenal played much better than us,” he said. “They deserved to win the game. We suffered a lot.

"They are one of the best teams in the league. We are not used to suffering in this way. We are used to controlling the game.

“I am really proud for the performance of my players. We suffered with the right attitude, right mentality.

“After that, we could score – Pascal [Gross] and Jack Hinselwood could score. But the result would not have been fair. They were much better than us.”

De Zerbi pointed to the fact that Brighton had two fewer days to prepare after playing in the Europa League on Thursday night. Arsenal, meanwhile, made multiple changes for their Champions League group game at PSV Eindhoven on Tuesday.

"Arsenal had fresh energy,” he said. “We lost every second ball and every duel. Maybe we were tired – not only physically.

"From the first XL Arsenal only had one player who played on Tuesday. We have to accept.

"We cannot forget we are Brighton and they are Arsenal. There’s no confusion about it in my head. We have to analyse they were much better than us.

“This stadium is difficult for Liverpool, [Manchester] City, for every team.

"They played a great game. They stopped our build-up, maybe.”

However, the Italian said the club’s injury crisis should be no excuse.

He said: “I don't like speaking about problems and about injuries. We want to transform the problems into possibilities to become better, to improve.

"It's not a secret we are playing with a lot of injuries. Everyone knows the number of our injuries.

"We could play better, yes. But we played with the right attitude and right mentality today. This game could be important for the future. If we find this mentality and attitude, we will win in the future.”