Why we got battered by Brighton – Arteta explains to Arsenal fans

Mikel Arteta refused to make excuses after Arsenal’s perfect start to their Premier League title defence was brought crashing down by a ruthless Brighton & Hove Albion side.

The Gunners were beaten 3-0 on Saturday after being outplayed and outworked, with Arteta admitting his players failed to compete at the required level.

Arsenal had won their opening four league matches while conceding just once, but Brighton exposed weaknesses that had been largely absent from their impressive start.

Pascal Gross opened the scoring with a superb strike that went in off the post before Charalampos Kostoulas doubled Brighton’s advantage from 25 yards.

Chema Andres then completed the rout with a header from a corner, handing Arsenal their heaviest defeat in all competitions since another 3-0 loss to Brighton in May 2023.

“They deserved to win the game, they were the better team, especially in the early stages of the first half. We were not competing on the level that is required. We did technical errors in the wrong areas and lost our duels,” Arteta said.

The defeat leaves Arsenal second in the Premier League on goal difference with 12 points from five matches, while Brighton moved into third with 10 points.

Brighton’s pressing was central to their victory as the hosts consistently denied Arsenal time and space to establish control. The Gunners struggled to play through the pressure, while Brighton were clinical whenever opportunities appeared.

Their attacking efficiency has been a major feature of their season, with the victory taking Brighton to 16 Premier League goals in five matches. No other team had scored more than 10 at the time, underlining the threat Arsenal faced.

Arsenal were also unusually vulnerable from set-pieces and could have conceded even more on another afternoon.

Despite the heavy defeat, Arteta urged perspective after a difficult evening, saying, “But I have to put into perspective what the team has done since the World Cup. I think it has been exceptional. We will learn from this experience and go again.”

For Arsenal, the challenge now is responding to their first major setback of the league campaign rather than allowing Brighton’s demolition to derail their title defence.