Brighton cruised to a 3-0 win over champions Arsenal at the Amex Stadium, a result that abruptly ended the visitors’ 100% start to the season. Pascal Gross, Charalampos Kostoulas and Chema Andrés scored the goals.
Mikel Arteta made no attempt to disguise how badly his side had been beaten. “They deserved to win the game and it’s a big lesson for us,” the Arsenal manager said. “From the first throw-in you could sense it, it was so clear. We put ourselves in trouble one time, two times, three times and we need to get out of that much quicker than that. That’s one of the biggest lessons that we have to take from the game.”
The Arsenal manager also explained that his players had been warned about exactly the kind of start they would face. “We knew how tough it was going to be and the first thing we had discussed was about the first part,” he said. “If you don’t get out of that first part as winners, it will be extremely difficult to dominate the game and to have any probability of winning the game. At this level, it’s extremely important to respect and to understand that before anything else.”
Elsewhere in the Premier League, Tottenham lost 3-2 at home to Aston Villa, Everton beat Ipswich Town 1-0, Newcastle United won 2-1 against Hull City, and Coventry City came away from Nottingham Forest with a 1-0 victory.
Attention now turns to Sunday’s fixtures, with Iraola returning to Bournemouth and Manchester United travelling to Fulham.