The international break has given Mikel Arteta three weeks to think about what Brighton did to his side.

Pascal Groß struck in the 30th minute at the Amex Stadium on 19 September, Charalampos Kostoulas doubled the lead on the stroke of half-time and Chema Andres headed in a third 11 minutes after the break. It was Arsenal’s heaviest Premier League defeat since May 2023, which was also against Brighton.

Arteta made no attempt to spin the result afterwards.

“A very disappointing result and performance. Full credit to Brighton in the manner they performed and went about the game,” he said.

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Four wins, then one bad afternoon

Until that trip to the south coast, the champions had looked like a side intent on retaining the title they won in May for the first time in 22 years. Arsenal beat Coventry City 3-0, Aston Villa 1-0, Chelsea 2-1 and Sunderland 2-0 to open the campaign with four straight wins before Brighton were the first opponents to work out how to hurt them.

Fabian Hurzeler’s team pressed Arsenal into submission and took 44 minutes to let the visitors register a meaningful chance. The third goal arrived 15 seconds after Bukayo Saka had been denied from close range at the other end.

“They were horrible to play against today and that’s because we did the basic things right,” Hurzeler told reporters.

The scoreline flattered a visiting side that had 11 shots to Brighton’s 17. Groß alone has had a hand in six Premier League goals this season, more than any other player.

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Manchester City set the pace

While Arsenal were being outplayed on the coast, Manchester City kept winning. The leaders go into the restart on 15 points from five matches, three clear of Arsenal in second.

The Premier League returns on Saturday 10 October with Arsenal against Leeds the opening match of the weekend. Manchester City travel to Liverpool the following day, and Manchester United host Tottenham Hotspur in the Saturday night fixture.

Arteta has already turned his attention to the Leeds trip to the Emirates.

“We know what it takes to win every single match, and we know what it’s going to take to win against Leeds when we come back,” he said.

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