Arsenal suffered their first defeat of the season after losing 0-3 to Brighton & Hove Albion.
At the Amex Stadium, Brighton disrupted Arsenal’s buildup with intense pressing in the first half.
Arsenal conceded again immediately after missing a counterattacking opportunity, then allowed a goal from a corner in the second half.
3-Line Summary
1. Arsenal lost 0-3 to Brighton
2. Brighton scored two goals in the first half
3. Pressing and set pieces decided the match
Second Concession Follows the Opening Goal in the 31st Minute
Brighton pressed confidently from the opening stages, while Arsenal struggled to respond to the opposition’s intensity. According to BBC coverage, Pascal Groß’s shot from outside the penalty area in the 31st minute struck the post and went in to give Brighton the opening goal.
Bukayo Saka had an opportunity to equalize for Arsenal on a counterattack late in the first half, but he was unable to take it. In the ensuing sequence, Charalampos Kostoulas found space on the edge of the box and scored the second goal. For Arsenal, the sequence in which one chance to equalize led to another concession was particularly frustrating.
Brighton carried a confident approach into this match after wins over Coventry City and Manchester United. Arsenal looked unusually unsettled when in possession, and Brighton did not miss the opportunity.
Third Goal Comes from a Corner
There was no turnaround in the second half. Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta made no substitutions at halftime, but Brighton moved 3-0 ahead in the 12th minute of the second half when Jan Paul van Hecke scored a header from Groß’s corner.
Arsenal’s Kai Havertz had a late chance to pull one back, but Brighton goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen stopped him. From another corner, Brighton’s Pascal Struijk also came close to a fourth goal with a headed opportunity. It was not a match in which Arsenal created no attacking chances at all, but the key point was that Brighton produced clearer results from its pressing and set pieces.
Defeat Could Not Be Prevented Even with Two Changes to the Starting XI
Before the match, Arsenal announced that Bruno Guimarães and Jurriën Timber would make their first league starts, with two changes to the starting lineup from the previous match against Sunderland. Ben White was left out of the squad through injury, while Declan Rice and Martin Ødegaard started in midfield.
However, the changes to the starting lineup alone were not enough to overcome Brighton’s pressing. According to the BBC, after this defeat Arsenal dropped to second in the league on goal difference while having played one additional match, and Brighton moved up to third, two points behind the leaders. Even for Arsenal, who had been on a lengthy winning streak, the defeat showed how sharply a match can change when the response to an opponent’s pressing and set pieces falters.
References
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