Brighton and Hove Albion brought Arsenal’s perfect start to the season to an abrupt end with a stunning 3-0 demolition of the Premier League champions on the south coast on Saturday.
Pascal Gross and Charalampos Kostoulas rewarded Brighton’s first-half dominance with precise finishes and Chema Andres struck with a header after the interval as Arsenal slumped to their heaviest defeat for three years.
Arsenal had won seven successive matches since the start of the campaign, including their opening four Premier League games, to begin their title defence in ominous fashion.
But the wheels fell off spectacularly against a free-scoring Brighton side who moved into third place.
“A really disappointing result and performance. Brighton were another gear up from us. We were extremely poor technically and not respecting the game,” Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said.
“They were another gear from us in the basics of the game.”
Wearing a special blue-shirted kit to mark their 125th anniversary, Fabian Huerzeler’s Brighton produced an intensity that Arsenal simply could not match.
Gross beat Arsenal keeper David Raya in the 31st minute with a low shot that went in off the upright — his fourth goal in his last five games — and Kostoulas scored with a similar effort following a counter-attack less than a minute after Bukayo Saka was close to an equaliser at the other end.
Andres punished some slack marking to head in from close range from Gross’s corner.
Arsenal have 12 points from five games, the same as Manchester City who can move three points clear at the top if they beat Sunderland on Sunday.
Arsenal dropped to second place on goal difference from five games as they suffered their heaviest defeat in all competitions since a 3-0 home loss to Brighton in May 2023.
Brighton, who have scored a league-leading 16 goals, have 10 points.
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