Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has said that goalkeeper Petr Cech's honesty after the club's 2-1 loss to Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday "deserves a lot of respect".

Cech, who fumbled Glenn Murray's header as Brighton went 2-0 in front before half time, wrote on social media after the game that it is "impossible" to win if a goalkeeper makes the mistakes that the 35-year-old did.

Wenger, however, said that Cech's assessment of his performance shows the stopper's professionalism.

"It deserves a lot of respect because it's his assessment of his performance," the manager told reporters. "He's a very intelligent guy, a very professional guy.

"He has saved us on other occasions. Today he cost us [with] mistakes. But as a manager and a club we have to live with that.

"When the players do well you take the credit. When the players don't do well you have as well to live with it."

Arsenal face AC Milan in the first leg of their Europa League last-16 tie on Thursday.