Action Images via Reuters/Peter Cziborra
Arsenal suffered their first defeat of the season on Saturday, blown away by a rampant Brighton side at the Amex.
Pascal Groß opened the scoring before Charalampos Kostoulas doubled the lead right before half-time, and Chema Andres added a third early in the second half to complete a thoroughly deserved win for the Seagulls.
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Stat Brighton Arsenal
Possession 40.1% 59.9%
xG 1.3 1.58
Shots 17 11
Shots on Target 5 2
Touches in Opposition Box 30 36
It brought an abrupt end to Arsenal's perfect start to the season and leaves them second behind Man City heading into the international break, and Mikel Arteta didn't shy away from the scale of the defeat afterwards.
"Extremely disappointed. But first I think we have to congratulate Brighton for the victory. I think they deserve it, I think they were the better team," he said.
Action Images via Reuters/Peter Cziborra
"From our side, there were certain basics you need to accomplish in football, especially in the Premier League that we were very far from. Winning the first duel, the second ball, that put to the game, especially how direct they were in a really difficult place for us.
"On top of that, especially in our own half, we didn't respect any of the principles of play to get out of that man-to-man situation. That puts us on the back foot, so it was very difficult to control the game.
"When we had moments of dominance and control, we did open them up, but we didn't finish those actions with the quality that is required to compensate for the things we did wrong. So overall, they deserved to win the game, and it's a big lesson for us."
REUTERS/Peter Cziborra
The result has reignited frustration among Arsenal supporters over the club's lack of business up front during the summer window, as the Gunners failed to add further to their attacking ranks following the signing of Christos Tzolis.
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Andrea Berta and Co are reportedly keeping tabs on potential January options such as Kevin Schade and Eli Junior Kroupi to bolster Arteta's options up front, but there could also be movement in defence, where Ben White has long been tipped for a potential exit.
Arsenal battling Liverpool for 5-assist star
According to TEAMTalk, Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City all have long-standing interest in Feyenoord's Givairo Read, having been closely monitoring the Dutch right-back for months.
REUTERS/Maurice Van Steen
Read has racked up five assists in just seven Eredivisie appearances so far this term, and Premier League scouts have been impressed by what they've seen, particuarly in his playmaking ability from out wide.
They'll also be watching closely when he links up with the Netherlands Under-21s during the international break for their European Championship qualifiers against Norway, Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Liverpool, who have their own issues at right-back with Jeremie Frimpong out of form and Ronald Araujo being shoehorned in at full-back, are thought to be considering a move in January to get ahead of the competition, so Berta may need to act quickly when the winter window opens.
REUTERS/Maurice Van Steen
For now, though, the focus is on responding domestically. Arteta was quick to stress there's no quick fix awaiting Arsenal once the break ends, admitting there are no easy games: "That for us crystal clear. We knew when we talked for two days what we had to do here.
"We've played our fourth away game in a very short space of time, and we know what it takes to win every single match. We know what it has to take to beat Leeds when we come back."
Atletico Madrid's Julian Alvarez on the bench before the match
Atletico Madrid's Julian Alvarez on the bench before the match
Arsenal host Leeds after the international break, with Daniel Farke's side one of the toughest teams to play against in the division so far this term, conceding just three times in total in their first five matches, with no defeats.