Two long-range hits and it was done
Arsenal were chasing an eighth straight win. Brighton shut that down from the opening whistle. The Seagulls pressed high, won the ball back quickly and punished them from distance. Pascal Gross opened the scoring in the 30th minute with a curling effort into the corner past David Raya. Charalampos Kostoulas doubled the lead just before the break, 15 seconds after Bart Verbruggen had denied Bukayo Saka. Both goals came from outside the box, in the spaces the London side kept leaving open all first half.
Arsenal did not create a clear chance until the 44th minute. Forty-four minutes without a dangerous shot against a side that simply ran harder. Fabian Hurzeler’s men set the tone from first kick to final whistle.
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Chema Andres adds the hammer blow
Nine minutes after the restart, Chema Andres scored his first goal in a Brighton shirt. He headed in at the far post from a Gross corner, with the marking all over the place. The score could have got uglier. Pascal Struijk headed wide from a corner Raya failed to deal with properly. Matt O’Riley went through one-on-one with the Spanish keeper and couldn’t finish. Malick Yalcouye then rattled the bar from the rebound.
Kai Havertz had Arsenal’s best chance in the 77th minute. Verbruggen said no again. Arsenal never managed to spend long enough in Brighton’s half to build anything of note.
Seven wins, then nothing
Brighton climb to third in the table, two points behind Arsenal. The Gunners stay top but drop their first points of the season. They had been chasing the club’s best start for 123 years. That run ends at seven wins.
Manchester City can move above them on Sunday. A win against Sunderland would put the Citizens three points clear of the current leaders before the international break. Hurzeler, meanwhile, has a fixture list that does not get any kinder.
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