Brighton and Hove Albion marked their 125th anniversary with a convincing 3–0 victory over defending Premier League champions Arsenal at the Amex Stadium.
Goals from Pascal Gross, Charalampos Kostoulas and Chema Andrés secured the win for Fabian Hürzeler’s side on Saturday, 19 September.
The result ended Arsenal’s perfect start to the league season after four successive victories. Brighton climbed to third place with 10 points from five matches, two points behind the Gunners.
Brighton take control before half-time
Brighton started with greater intensity and repeatedly disrupted Arsenal’s attempts to play out from defence.
The hosts took the lead in the 31st minute when Gross found space outside the penalty area and directed his shot beyond Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya.
Arsenal struggled to create clear opportunities but came close to equalising shortly before half-time. Bukayo Saka was denied from close range by Brighton goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen.
Brighton doubled their advantage about 15 seconds later. Kostoulas drove forward before beating Raya with a long-range strike in the 45th minute, sending the hosts into the break with a 2–0 lead.
The timing of the second goal left Arsenal with a difficult task after they had briefly appeared close to restoring parity.
Chema Andrés completes victory
Brighton continued to press after the interval and added a third goal in the 57th minute.
Chema Andrés escaped Arsenal’s marking at the far post and headed in a corner delivered by Gross. It was the midfielder’s first Premier League goal for Brighton.
The hosts continued to create opportunities and could have increased their advantage. Pascal Struijk headed wide from another corner, while Raya denied Matt O’Riley before Malick Yalcouyé struck the woodwork from the rebound.
Arsenal’s best second-half opportunity fell to Kai Havertz, but Verbruggen prevented the forward from reducing the deficit.
According to the match report published by Sky Sports, Brighton finished with five shots on target, while Arsenal managed two.
Arteta admits Brighton deserved victory
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta acknowledged that Brighton were the better side and said his players had fallen short in the basic areas of the game.
Arteta pointed to technical mistakes, lost challenges and Arsenal’s difficulty dealing with Brighton’s man-to-man press. He said the team would need to learn from the performance and ensure it was not repeated.
Brighton manager Hürzeler praised his players’ intensity and togetherness, saying they had made themselves difficult to play against by winning challenges and carrying out the fundamentals of their game effectively.
Reuters reported that Arsenal remained second with 12 points on goal difference at the time of publication, while Brighton moved into third.
The victory also took Brighton’s league total to 16 goals, the highest in the division at that stage of the weekend.
For Arsenal, the defeat brought their winning league run to an abrupt end and exposed problems in possession and defensive organisation. Brighton, meanwhile, strengthened their early position among the leading teams with one of their most complete performances of the season.
Trivane View: Brighton’s victory was built on more than clinical finishing. Their pressing, intensity and control prevented Arsenal from settling into the match. The result was deserved and showed that Brighton’s position near the top of the table is supported by the quality of their performances.
