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BRIGHTON, England \u2013 There were no excuses from Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta after his side\u2019s perfect start to their Premier League title defence came to an ignominious end at Brighton & Hove Albion \u200bon Saturday with a stunning 3-0 defeat in which they were out-hustled by \u200ctheir hosts.<\/strong><\/p>\n Arsenal won their opening four games of the league season, conceding just a single goal, but were undone by a superb Brighton performance that sees them move up to third in the table with 10 points from \u200btheir five games.<\/p>\n Arsenal dropped to second place on goal difference with 12 points from five \u200bgames as they suffered their heaviest defeat in all competitions since a 3-0 \u2060home loss to Brighton in May 2023.<\/p>\n Brighton took the lead following a superb strike from Pascal \u200bGross as the ball went in off the post. Charalampos Kostoulas then finished from 25 yards and \u200bChema Andres headed home a corner to add a third goal.<\/p>\n \u201cThey deserved to win the game, they were the better team, especially in the early stages of the first half. We were not competing on the level that \u200bis required,\u201d Arteta said. \u201cWe did technical errors in the wrong areas and lost our duels.<\/p>\n \u201cBut I \u200bhave to put into perspective what the team has done since the World Cup. I think it has been \u200cexceptional. \u2060We will learn from this experience and go again.\u201d<\/p>\n Brighton\u2019s success was built on pressing Arsenal into submission and giving them little time on the ball, denying them control of the game.<\/p>\n Arteta\u2019s side were poor as a result, but that was also due to Brighton\u2019s bravery and in the final third \u200bthe home side were \u200bclinical, taking their Premier \u2060League tally to 16 goals in five games this season.<\/p>\n Given that no other side has scored more than 10, free-scoring Brighton have emerged as one \u200bof the best teams to watch so far this season.<\/p>\n The visitors were \u200balso uncharacteristically \u2060poor defending set-pieces and might have lost by a greater margin on another day.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was the perfect performance from us,\u201d Andres said. \u201cThe team was amazing, the intensity was what we needed to win against this \u2060amazing \u200bteam.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was my first Premier League goal and an important \u200bmoment in the match for us to go 3-0 up. You cannot say it is game over against players of the \u200bquality of Arsenal, but the team kept pushing for the win.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n