Arsenal’s perfect start to the Premier League season came to a screeching halt on Saturday, as the Gunners were battered and bullied by Brighton in a 3-0 defeat down on the south coast.
BRIGHTON 3-0 ARSENAL — Updates, highlights from Saturday’s game
Below is the latest Mikel Arteta reaction, speaking after a humbling defeat just before the upcoming international break. Long-range strikes from Pascal Gross and Charamalmpos Kostoulas made it 2-0 in the first half, and 21-year-old summer signing, midfielder Chema Andres, headed home a corner kick from the doorstep just before the hour mark.
Mikel Arteta reaction: What did Arsenal boss say after Brighton bullied his bullies?
“Very disappointing. Everything we discussed about the intensity the game was going to require, winning the duels and the second ball, we were very, very far from that. We were constantly under pressure. We conceded a goal, then had a massive chance to score and didn’t. We tried to work in the second half. We conceded a second goal and had a big chance to score before that. It’s a big lesson to learn. What the team has done in the last six weeks after the World Cup was big, but today there was a lot to learn.”
“Credit to them for what they’ve done. When they turn the game back to you and they are able to win those battles, the game becomes different. Any game you can get exposed if you don’t do what you have to do. They were another gear up from us in the basics in the game — the first actions, the second ball.”
“Not only ours, but the ones that are required in the Premier League to compete away from home. We were open and at this level, it’s going to suffocate you and you’re going to suffer. We put ourselves constantly back to goal.”
Gunners couldn’t cope with Brighton’s intensity
Brighton decided they would defend both boxes and nowhere else, and it worked better than Fabian Hurzeler could have ever imagined it would. Gabriel and Ezri Konsa were out of their depth against the Seagulls’ high press which extended all the way to the Gunners’ end line, and Bruno Guimaraes and Declan Rice were hardly helpful to get them out of trouble in midfield. Arsenal’s insistence that they must play short was a huge hindrance when they came up against a side that chased and harried with the same intensity and physicality that they typically impose upon their opponents. Arteta will not have enjoyed a little taste of his own medicine.
When they did manage to beat the press, Brighton dropped into the deepest of deep shells defensively. All 10 outfield players were within 25 yards of their goal and then, and only then, did they start to chase the ball again. Fabian Hurzeler was betting that, with Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka and Christos Tzolis up top, Arsenal wouldn’t capitalize on the rare transitional opportunity and that they would eventually halt the attack to play the ball sideways or backwards. Excellent scouting and game planning, that is.
“I thought we showed great intensity, waited for mistakes and punished Arsenal,” Gross said after the game. “It was a strong performance, a very complete performance. We won the ball high up and attacked really fast. After the last two wins, we are full of confidence and wanted to finish really strong before the international break.”
Dare I say, Brighton made the champions look quite average against real pressure and quick, one-touch passing moves through the middle of the park. I’d say that the secret to beating Arsenal has been revealed, but there simply are not many sides that can do what Brighton do on a regular basis. Massive credit to Hurzeler, who has built and rebuilt a new team every one of the three seasons he’s been in charge.
“Intensity, intensity, winning the personal duals,” Hurzeler exclaimed after the win. “We have to have the belief to compete with the best teams in the league. My players really trust each other on the pitch. If one player is out, then another can replace him.”
