Arsenal’s flawless beginning to their Premier League title defence was brought to a sudden halt as Brighton secured an emphatic 3-0 win at the Amex Stadium.
The outcome dashed Arsenal’s aspirations of equalling a 123-year-old club record of eight straight victories to start a season. Brighton dictated play for extended spells, with Pascal Gross breaking the deadlock before Charalampos Kostoulas extended the lead just before the break.
Mikel Arteta tried to alter the match’s trajectory at half-time, but Brighton maintained their grip after the interval. Chema Andres nodded in from a corner shortly before the hour mark to seal a convincing win for Fabian Hurzeler’s team.
Brighton controls Arsenal in the opening period
Arsenal came to the Amex with their strongest lineup after rotating the squad for their midweek win at Ipswich. However, they found it difficult to cope with Brighton’s intensity from the first whistle.
Just seven minutes in, Bruno Guimaraes, making his first Premier League start for his new club, lost possession, and Kostoulas tested David Raya from long range. The Arsenal keeper managed to tip the effort, but Brighton kept causing issues.
The hosts went ahead after Gabriel and Riccardo Calafiori allowed Gross too much space to shoot. The Brighton midfielder unleashed a fine strike from 20 yards that found the net off Raya’s near post.
Arsenal couldn’t mount an effective response, with Bukayo Saka failing to connect properly with a promising counter-attack. Brighton pushed forward again right away, and their pressure yielded a second goal before half-time.
Arsenal falls 3-0 after defensive lapses
Calafiori was caught out of position when the ball came to Kostoulas, and Arsenal didn’t press the Greece forward. He answered with a fierce low drive from 22 yards that defeated Raya and made it 2-0 for Brighton.
The goal arrived almost with the last kick of the first half, leaving Arteta with a significant challenge at the break as Arsenal’s unbeaten run was in serious jeopardy.
Any faint hopes of an Arsenal fightback were further diminished in the 57th minute. Brighton earned a corner, and Chema Andres rose unchallenged to head the ball in and give the hosts a third goal.
Brighton kept pushing for more. Pascal Struijk went close when his header from another corner dropped just wide of Raya’s post, with the keeper unable to reach it.
Premier League defeat raises questions for Arsenal
Arsenal had limited chances to cut the deficit. Kai Havertz came closest late on when he went one-on-one with Bart Verbruggen, but the Brighton keeper made the stop. It was Verbruggen’s only real test of the match.
Brighton then had another opportunity to add a fourth when substitute Matt O’Riley threatened to mark the club’s 125-year anniversary with a goal. Raya prevented further damage, but Arsenal were already heading for a heavy loss.
For Brighton, the result came just days after their Carabao Cup comeback win at Manchester United and moved them up to third in the table, two points behind Arsenal.
Arteta now has a 21-day break before Arsenal play again, following a result that ended their 100 per cent start to the Premier League season in emphatic fashion.