Arteta says Arsenal ‘did not respect the game’ in Brighton defeat

Mikel Arteta said Arsenal failed to “respect the game” as their unbeaten Premier League start ended with a 3-0 defeat by Brighton.

The defending champions were outplayed on the south coast, with Pascal Gross, Charalampos Kostoulas and Chema Andres scoring to give Brighton a convincing victory and move them up to third in the table.

Arteta said Arsenal had been second best from the outset, with Brighton winning the physical contests and repeatedly disrupting their attempts to build play from the back.

“They were another gear from us in the basics of the game,” said the Arsenal manager. “They were always first in the first duel, in the second actions, second balls, and they started to play from there.

“And on top of that, when we had the ball, especially in our own half, we were extremely poor technically, not respecting the game and the game principles you have to apply against a team that want to press you man to man.”

The defeat brought Arsenal’s run of eight consecutive Premier League wins to an end. It was also their heaviest top-flight loss since Brighton won 3-0 at Emirates Stadium in May 2023.

Arteta said he recognised the warning signs almost immediately, claiming Arsenal were “in trouble” from the “first throw-in”.

“There are a lot of moments when the ball is 50-50 and it changes hands, and most of the time it was for them,” he said.

“Sometimes there were some technical errors involved that opened us up in a really difficult way, but that’s something to learn.”

Brighton had 24 hours less recovery time than Arsenal following their respective midweek Carabao Cup matches, but Arteta did not use the difference as an excuse.

Brighton beat Manchester United 3-2 on Wednesday, while Arsenal defeated Ipswich 4-2 on Tuesday with a much-changed side.

“They [Brighton] knew, we knew, how tough it would be today,” Arteta said. “But Brighton overcame us and had another edge that we didn’t have.

“Brighton had another bite, their timing was better and when the ball was 50-50, most of the time it was for them.”

Despite his disappointment, Arteta said the result should serve as a lesson rather than diminish Arsenal’s achievements during the opening part of the season.

“What we’ve done and the way we’ve competed and the amount of games we’ve won has been remarkable,” he said.

“But this is a big lesson for all of us to understand what it takes to win at this level.”