Brighton & Hove Albion ended Arsenal’s perfect start to their Premier League title defence with an emphatic 3-0 victory at the Amex Stadium, producing a performance that manager Fabian Hürzeler described as “special.”
Arsenal had conceded only one goal in their opening four league matches, but Brighton scored three without reply to inflict the champions’ first defeat of the season. The result also ended Arsenal’s nine-match Premier League winning streak.
Pascal Groß opened the scoring in the 31st minute, firing a 20-yard strike in off the inside of David Raya’s near post after Arsenal gave him too much space on the edge of the area.
Brighton doubled their advantage on the stroke of half-time. Teenage forward Charalampos Kostoulas was afforded room outside the penalty area and found the corner of the net to leave Arsenal facing a two-goal deficit at the break.
The hosts completed the scoring in the 57th minute when Chema Andrés, unmarked at the far post, headed home Groß’s corner for his first Brighton goal.
Match summary
Minute Scorer Assist
31′ Pascal Groß Charalampos Kostoulas
45′ Charalampos Kostoulas Diego Gómez
57′ Chema Andrés Pascal Groß
Brighton’s intensity and pressing repeatedly unsettled Arsenal, who struggled to create meaningful chances and were fortunate that the margin of defeat did not grow larger. Sky Sports described the 3-0 scoreline as flattering to the visitors.
A statement win
The victory lifted Brighton to third in the table, two points behind Arsenal. Hürzeler’s side have now scored 16 goals in five league matches—the highest total in the division at that stage—while conceding five.
“Beating the current champions and the best team in England is something special,” Hürzeler said. “But it’s not because the result is special, it’s the performance. They were horrible to play against today because we did the basic things right.”
The result carried particular significance on Brighton’s 125th-anniversary weekend. Groß, 35, supplied a captain’s performance, while 19-year-old Kostoulas and 21-year-old Chema Andrés completed the scoring, underlining the blend of experience and youth in Hürzeler’s side.
