Brighton demolish champions Arsenal 3-0 to mark 125th anniversary in style

Arsenal crashed back down to earth with a thumping 3-0 defeat at Brighton, who turned the club's 125th anniversary into a night to remember. Mikel Arteta's side had been chasing an eighth straight win to open the season for the first time since 1903, when they still played as Woolwich Arsenal. Instead, the Premier League champions were ripped apart at the Amex Stadium.

• Brighton beat champions Arsenal 3-0 on the club's 125th anniversary.
• Pascal Gross, Charalampos Kostoulas and Chema Andrés scored the home side's goals.
• Arsenal conceded three times for the first time since December 2023 in all competitions.
• The defeat knocks Arsenal off the top of the Premier League on goal difference.
• Brighton have now scored 16 goals in five league games and sit third, two points behind Arsenal.

Brighton mark 125 years with a memorable display

Home fans waved blue and white flags before kick off as Brighton players swapped their usual kit for a limited edition deep blue shirt inspired by the club's first season in the Southern League Division Two back in 1901. The special strip had caused controversy among supporters after being listed at £150 in a package that included a letter of authenticity from owner Tony Bloom and a keyring. Given it was only worn for this match, those who paid up will feel it was money well spent.

Gross and Kostoulas tear Arsenal apart before the break

Arsenal arrived at the Amex looking for an eighth consecutive victory in all competitions. What they found was a Brighton side pressing relentlessly from the first whistle, led by Greek teenager Kostoulas, signed last summer for £30m. The pressure forced uncharacteristic mistakes from the champions, including a misplaced pass from Bruno Guimarães on his first Premier League start for Arsenal that forced David Raya to tip a deflected effort from the 19-year-old around the post.

Raya also gifted possession to the lively Yasin Ayari in a dangerous area. Arsenal looked rattled for the first time this season. Christos Tzolis missed a rare chance on the break after being picked out by Bukayo Saka, and Brighton made them pay just after the half-hour mark.

Gabriel Magalhães and Riccardo Calafiori were slow to close down Gross when he received the ball on the edge of the box from Kostoulas. The veteran stand-in captain picked his spot perfectly and found the inside of the post. Ayari then fired into the side-netting five minutes before the interval.

Saka had just wasted a golden chance to equalise after being set up by Martin Ødegaard when Kostoulas struck. Gabriel was caught ball watching as the Greek forward thumped a 25-yard effort beyond Raya to make it 2-0. The Amex was in dreamland.

Chema Andrés seals the win from a corner

Arteta immediately sent Max Dowman, the 16-year-old who scored twice against Ipswich in midweek, to warm up. He must have been tempted to introduce him at the start of the second half as Kostoulas went close again for Brighton. The changes came too late.

Twelve minutes after the restart, Chema Andrés nodded in at the far post from a pinpoint Gross corner to make it 3-0. Delighted home fans sang 'Are you Tottenham in disguise?' as they watched their side brush past the champions with surprising ease.

Arsenal lose top spot before the international break

The defeat knocks Arsenal off the top of the Premier League on goal difference. It is their first loss of the campaign and the first time they have conceded three goals in any competition since December 2023. Brighton head into the international break third in the table, two points behind the London club.

Arteta will have plenty of thinking to do over the three-week break. Myles Lewis-Skelly's energy and drive in midfield was missed in the week he was recalled to the England squad, while Jurriën Timber looked leggy on his first start since March. Nothing clicked for the champions at the Amex.

Brighton's attack keeps firing without its first-choice forwards

What makes Brighton's goalscoring form so impressive is that they have achieved it almost entirely without their first-choice attack due to injury. Danny Welbeck, last season's top scorer, was sold to Chelsea in the summer. Georginio Rutter returned only as a late substitute, by which point the damage had already been done by Gross and Kostoulas.

Fabian Hürzeler's side are the division's top scorers with 16 goals in five games. The numbers are remarkable given the absentees they have had to manage in attacking areas.

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