Arsenal’s perfect start to the Premier League season came to a brutal end on Saturday as Brighton handed the defending champions a 3-0 defeat at the Amex Stadium.
Mikel Arteta offered few excuses afterwards, admitting his team were second best in the fundamentals of the game.
Pascal Gross and Charalampos Kostoulas put Brighton two goals ahead before half-time, with Chema Andres adding the third after the break.
The result ended Arsenal’s run of four straight league wins and dropped them to second on goal difference with 12 points.
Arteta admits Arsenal failed to follow their principles
(Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)
Speaking after the match, Arteta was clear about the scale of Arsenal’s shortcomings.
He said, as reported by Fabrizio Romano:
“Brighton were the better team. There are certain basics that you need to accomplish in the Premier League that we were very far from”.
The Arsenal manager also highlighted the unusually poor technical level of his side:
“The amount of technical errors we did… we didn’t respect any principle of play”.
Those comments were backed up by what happened on the pitch. Brighton consistently disrupted Arsenal with an aggressive press and repeatedly won first and second balls, something Arteta also highlighted in his wider post-match assessment.
According to Opta Analyst, the 3-0 scoreline arguably flattered Arsenal, with Brighton creating further opportunities to extend their advantage. The Seagulls have now scored 16 Premier League goals this season, the highest total in the division.
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Gunners lacked control against Brighton
(Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)
One defeat should not create panic, particularly after Arsenal had opened their title defence with four consecutive victories while conceding only one league goal.
However, the manner of this loss should concern Arteta more than the scoreline.
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