Five things we learned as Arsenal suffer embarrassing 3-0 defeat to Brighton

Arsenal’s unbeaten start came crashing down at Brighton as a dominant 3-0 defeat exposed defensive frailties, attacking struggles and concerns over squad rotation.

Brighton brought Arsenal’s unbeaten start to the season crashing down with a deserved 3-0 victory at the Amex Stadium.

Pascal Gross opened the scoring from distance before Charalampous Kostoulas doubled Brighton’s advantage, with Chema Andres adding a third after the break.

Arsenal struggled to match Brighton’s intensity throughout, producing a disjointed display as Mikel Arteta’s side suffered their first defeat of the campaign.

Five things we learned from Brighton 3-0 Arsenal

1. Unbeaten no more

Arsenal suffered their first defeat of the season, ending a perfect start that has seen them win seven consecutive games across all competitions.

Brighton were dominant from start to finish and secured a deserved win that will leave Mikel Arteta with more than a few things to ponder during the international break.

2. That’s how you beat the Gunners

Brighton joined Manchester United as the only three teams to score 3+ goals in a competitive game against Arsenal since November 2023, and there’s a pattern to it.

Man United scored twice from outside the box through Patrick Dorgu and Matheus Cunha, and Brighton reproduced the statistics through Pascal Gross and Charalampous Kostoulas this afternoon at the AMEX.

3. Myles Lewis-Skelly is still vital for Arsenal

Although Arsenal were more pragmatic in previous games when Myles Lewis-Skelly had started, his absence was too obvious not to be missed at the AMEX as Bruno Guimaraes struggled on his first Premier League start.

Brighton were much better than Arsenal, leaving a lot of defensive duties for the team, and unfortunately for the Brazilian, he couldn’t just live with the space generated by the hosts, both in settled play and in transition.

4. Arsenal attack needs rotation

The trio of Kai Havertz, Christos Tzolis and Bukayo Saka were once again found wanting in an away game. It’s not for the first time this season, and Mikel Arteta has a tough decision to make when play returns.

Arsenal do have other options like Noni Madueke, Eberechi Eze, Max Dowman, Viktor Gyokeres, and maybe Mikel Merino up top. A choice has to be made so that the complacent feeling could change, and may the performances too.

5. Effect of too many travels

Not every matchday you get to see Mikel Arteta’s team concede three goals without a reply, and maybe this is the effect of having too many travels to do in the last couple of games.

Arsenal’s last four games have in all competitions have come on the road, and that could explain why they were unrecognizable in the AMEX, but depending how they respond after the international break, we’ll see if it was just about the timing.