Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has blamed a series of technical errors for his side’s heavy 3-0 defeat to Brighton in the Premier League on Saturday, bringing the champions’ impressive winning start to the season to an abrupt end.
Arsenal had been aiming for another victory to maintain their perfect start, but Brighton produced a dominant display at the Amex to expose the Gunners’ weaknesses and claim all three points.
Pascal Gross opened the scoring for the hosts before Charalampos Kostoulas doubled Brighton’s advantage before half-time.
Chema Andres then sealed the victory nine minutes after the restart when he headed in Gross’ corner, leaving Arsenal with no way back into the contest.
Speaking after the defeat, Arteta admitted that his players struggled from the opening stages, with their mistakes allowing Brighton to put them under sustained pressure.
“I’m really disappointed. In the first 20 or 30 minutes, the number of technical errors put us constantly under pressure. It was all related to the start,” Arteta told Match of the Day.
Insightlinks recalls that the defeat ended Arsenal’s remarkable winning run and served as a major setback after their impressive performances at the start of the campaign.
Arteta, however, said the result should serve as an important lesson for his players.
“It’s a big lesson to learn. What the team has done since the World Cup has been remarkable. But today there is a lot to learn,” he added.
The Arsenal manager also acknowledged Brighton’s performance, admitting that his side were far below their usual level.
“Credit to Brighton for what they have done. I think we were very far from our level,” Arteta said.
He described the defeat as “very, very painful” but noted that the international break would give his players time to reflect on the result and work on the areas that need improvement.
“In any game, you can get highly exposed if you don’t do what you need to do,” Arteta warned.
The defeat leaves Arsenal needing to regroup after Brighton exposed the technical mistakes and lapses that Arteta believes contributed significantly to the champions’ first setback of the season.