Arteta vows Arsenal will learn from chastening Brighton defeat
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Mikel Arteta’s side were undone by a superb Brighton performance.
PHOTO: REUTERS
BRIGHTON, England – There were no excuses from Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta after his side’s perfect start to their English Premier League (EPL) title defence came to an ignominious end at Brighton & Hove Albion on Sept 19.
The Gunners suffered a stunning 3-0 defeat in which they were out-hustled by their hosts.
Arsenal won their opening four games of this season’s league, conceding just a single goal, but were undone by a superb performance from Brighton who moved into the top four with 10 points from five games.
Arteta’s men dropped to second place on goal difference with 12 points from five games as they suffered their heaviest defeat in all competitions since a 3-0 home loss to the same opponents in May 2023.
The Spanish coach, who said he was “extremely disappointed”, felt that the Seagulls deserved the victory.
“A really disappointing result and performance,” he added.
“Brighton were another gear up from us. We were extremely poor technically and not respecting the game.
“They were another gear from us in the basics of the game.”
But this defeat at the Amex Stadium will not “take away what the team has done” in the last six or seven weeks since returning from the World Cup, he added.
“With 18 players coming back, what we’ve done and the way we’ve competed and the amount of games we’ve won has been remarkable,” said Arteta.
“But this is a big lesson for all of us to understand what it takes to win at this level.”
Wearing a special blue-shirted kit to mark their 125th anniversary, Fabian Hurzeler’s Seagulls produced an intensity that the Gunners simply could not match.
They took the lead following a superb strike from Pascal Gross as the ball went in off the post in the 31st minute.
Charalampos Kostoulas then finished from about 20m in the 45th minute and Chema Andres headed home a corner to add a third goal 12 minutes into the second half.
The Seagulls’ success was built on pressing the Gunners into submission and giving them little time on the ball, denying them control of the game.
Arteta’s side were poor as a result, but that was also because of the hosts’ bravery and clinical efficiency in the final third.
Brighton have taken their EPL tally to 16 goals in five games this season, making them one of the best teams to watch so far.
It was a victory to savour for Hurzeler.
“It was a special win. Not only because we played the best team in England but because of the performance. I am really proud of my team,” said the 33-year-old German.
Andres, who scored his first EPL goal, said “it was the perfect performance from us”.
“The team was amazing, the intensity was what we needed to win against this amazing team,” said the Spanish midfielder.
“It was my first Premier League goal and an important moment in the match for us to go 3-0 up. You cannot say it is game over against players of the quality of Arsenal, but the team kept pushing for the win.”
Meanwhile, promoted Hull City suffered their first league defeat of the season as they lost 2-1 at Newcastle United while Everton maintained their unbeaten start after five games as they beat Ipswich Town 1-0 at home.
Thierno Barry’s goal was enough for the Toffees to take the full points at Hill Dickinson Stadium, where the Tractor Boys had Abdul Fatawu sent off for a second yellow card in the 67th minute.
Over at St James’ Park, Newcastle galloped into a two-goal lead against Hull with Joe Willock and Lewis Hall scoring in the opening seven minutes, but were forced to hang on as Mohamed-Ali Cho replied for the visitors midway through the second half.
In the late game at the City Ground, Coventry City scored their first goal and earned their first points since ending their 25-year exile from the top flight with a 1-0 win at Nottingham Forest to move off the bottom.
Jay Dasilva’s 55th-minute goal was enough for Frank Lampard’s men to make their mark after a tough start to the season.
Forest were denied a late equaliser when Igor Jesus poked home but was adjudged, after a video assistant referee check, to have tripped defender Caleb Yirenkyi in the build-up. REUTERS, AFP