Declan Rice
Paul Merson says Declan Rice was going 'mad' at his Arsenal teammates during their miserable away defeat to Brighton on Saturday. The Gunners were beaten all over the pitch as they fell to their first defeat of the season against a Seagulls side that had nine players ruled out through injury.
Brighton have been excellent so far this season, even coming from two behind to win at Old Trafford in the Carabao Cup during the week, and they pressed the Gunners into submission on Saturday afternoon, with Pascal Gross, Charalampos Kostoulas and Chema Andres scoring to secure the win.
Speaking on Soccer Saturday on Sky Sports News, Arsenal legend Merson said while watching the game: "It was nearly Brighton again [to make it 4-0]... Kostoulas again, he gets in the box, he goes down and calls for a penalty. It's all Brighton.
"Declan Rice is going mad. He's getting the ball and nobody's showing. Nobody wants the ball. It's really disappointing from Arsenal at the moment. No-one wanting the ball. It's alright when everything goes well. It ain't going well today. Now you need players who are going to stand up, start getting on the ball and start making things happen. At the moment, that is not happening."
Brighton vs Arsenal stats
Shots: 17-11
Open play chances: 8-5
Counter attack chances: 3-2
Tackles: 18-13
Possession: 40%-50%
He went on to add: "I think Brighton would score again before Arsenal even scored a goal. Declan Rice has gone to right-back. I cannot even see Arsenal... at the moment, they don't even look like they're going to have a shot."
Arsenal will need to adapt quickly
REUTERS/Scott Heppell
Arteta will be alarmed with what he saw against Brighton on Saturday. Very few teams in the last year have worked out a way to get the better of the Gunners, and even fewer have done it and managed to completely dismantle Arteta's men.
For top teams like Arsenal, they will be well aware that what the Seagulls have created is a blueprint for other teams. And let's not go over the top. Not every team will be good enough to replicate that blueprint. As Brighton did, it's going to need to be a team who can execute all over the pitch, but teams like Manchester City and the better teams in the Champions League will believe they can use Fabian Hurzeler's press-heavy blueprint to get the better of Arsenal, who will know they must now learn to deal with what they couldn't on Saturday.
Mikel Arteta (Arsenal)