Arsenal suffered their first defeat of the season, losing 3-0 to Brighton. Manager Mikel Arteta said the defeat could be 'a big lesson' for his side. Arsenal, who won the title last season for the first time in 22 years, suffered their heaviest defeat since 1989.
Artista admitted that Brighton 'deserved' the victory and that his side was 'far from' the standards expected. He cited a lack of confidence in defence, a loss of control in midfield, and a lack of creativity in attack as key issues. 'I am very disappointed,' said Arteta, adding that technical errors had left Arsenal open in a difficult manner, with the majority of 50-50 balls going to Brighton. He also highlighted that Brighton were 'really good'.
Arsenal entered the match with nine consecutive league victories from April and seven wins at the start of the season in all competitions. However, they were losing 2-0 at half-time and failed to recover in the match. Arsenal had not recovered from a 2-0 deficit in a league match since March 2008 against Bolton. Arteta said they knew the match would be difficult and that the first thing they discussed was the first half of the match. 'If you don't pass the first part as a winner, it will be extremely difficult to dominate the match,' he added, acknowledging that Brighton had beaten them and had an extra advantage.
Brighton moved to third place in the table with the win. They are currently the top scorers in the Premier League with 16 goals, having scored eight goals in the past week. On the other hand, Arsenal last season conceded the fewest goals of any team, with David Raya conceding only one goal in the first four league matches before the defeat on Saturday.
Former Newcastle forward Alan Shearer spoke to BBC Radio 5 Live and said that Brighton deserved to score more goals. 'Brighton absolutely broke Arsenal,' said Shearer, adding that Brighton were magnificent from start to finish, with each player playing their part. 'They were strong, fit, and went for Arsenal. They were not afraid. It should have been six or seven goals,' said Shearer. He highlighted that Brighton did this correctly every time they chased the ball, doing so as a team rather than individually. 'I think they thought: we respect Arsenal, but we will not give them space to play,' he added. The organisation was excellent, and manager Fabian Hurzeler deserves credit for that, according to Shearer.
Former defender Curtis Davies also spoke on 5 Live. He said that Arsenal could attribute the result and performance to a 'blip', but that their form so far has been good. 'This was a really shocking performance,' said Davies. 'The defence was not even close to what they are used to. The disappointment will be the goal conceded from a set piece. Arsenal will have to look at themselves. They did not touch Brighton, they did not do anything with their attacking situations.'
Arteta said that lessons were needed before the international break. He recalled that the start of the season was good, and that what the team had achieved in the last six or seven weeks since returning from the World Cup was excellent. Arsenal had 15 players at the World Cup. Arteta took over Arsenal in 2019, and this defeat will certainly be a topic of analysis ahead of the resumption of the season.
