For weeks the loudest question in English football had been whether Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal could go a full season unbeaten. On Saturday evening at the Amex Stadium, Fabian Hürzeler’s Brighton answered it in ninety minutes.
The Seagulls pressed the defending champions off the pitch from the first whistle, took a two-goal lead into half-time and added a third early in the second half. Arsenal dropped behind Manchester City at the top of the table.
Arteta was blunt.
“A very disappointing result and performance. Full credit to Brighton in the manner they performed and went about the game,” he said in his post-match press conference.
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“When we had the ball, especially in our own half, we were extremely poor technically, not respecting the game and the game principles you have to apply against a team that want to press you man to man.”
“We have to make sure we learn the lesson because this can’t happen again.”
Fifteen seconds from Saka’s miss to 2-0
Brighton were quicker to every duel and sharper on the ball. Groß opened the scoring on 31 minutes with a struck effort from range, and Kostoulas doubled the lead on the stroke of half-time with another finish from outside the box.
The second goal came 15 seconds after Bukayo Saka had seen a close-range chance saved by Bart Verbruggen at the other end. It was a sequence that summed up Arsenal’s afternoon.
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Twelve minutes into the second half, Groß floated in a corner and Chema Andrés headed past David Raya. Brighton kept threatening from 3-0, with Matt O’Riley and Malick Yalcouye going close.
‘Horrible to play against’
Hürzeler did not hide his satisfaction.
“It was a special win. Not only because we played the best team in England but because of the performance,” he told reporters.
“We were horrible to play against.”
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His verdict on Groß, who scored one and set up another, was almost affectionate.
“You can compare him a little bit with a good wine. He enjoys himself on the pitch scoring goals. You can really trust him and he makes the team-mates around him really better.”
The win came days after Brighton’s Carabao Cup victory away at Manchester United.
City move top on goal difference
Arsenal dropped to second on goal difference behind Manchester City. Brighton climbed to third, two points off the top.
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Arsenal return to Premier League action against Leeds United at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday 10 October, kick-off 12:30pm local time, after the international break.
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