Brighton produced a stunning performance to hand the reigning Premier League champions Arsenal a heavy 3-0 defeat. The victory coincided with the 125th anniversary of Brighton’s first professional match and marked one of the finest displays under the guidance of German manager Fabian Hürzeler.
The goals came from Pascal Gross, Babis Kostoulas, and Chema Andres, with the latter making his first league start for the club.
Arsenal appeared unusually helpless throughout the encounter. Before Brighton’s third goal, the visitors had managed only a single shot on target and recorded a very low expected goals (xG) figure. The Gunners had a chance to get on the scoresheet when Kai Havertz found himself in a shooting position, but Brighton goalkeeper Verbruggen made an excellent save with his feet to keep a clean sheet.
Furthermore, towards the end of the match, Brighton created two more clear scoring opportunities, requiring goalkeeper Raya to make crucial saves to deny the Gunners.
The final scoreline of 3-0 marked the first defeat of the current champions this season. Interestingly, the last time Arsenal suffered such a heavy loss in the Premier League was on May 14, 2023, when they were also beaten 3-0 by Brighton at the Emirates Stadium.
2026-27, English Premier League
Brighton – Arsenal 3:0 (2:0)
Goals: Gross 31 (1:0); Kostoulas 45 (2:0); Andres 57 (3:0)
Brighton lineup:
Verbruggen; Struijk (Svoboda, 86); Boskali; De Kuyper; Vuskovic L.; Gross; Andres (Yalkuye, 86); Gomez D. (O’Reilly, 85); Aiyari; Kadioglu (Costinha J.P., 76); Kostoulas (Rutter, 76)
Substitutions: Costinha J.P. (from 76); Rutter (from 76); O’Reilly (from 85); Svoboda (from 86); Yalkuye (from 86)
Reserves: Steele; Hadjam; Osman I.; David Pr.
Yellow cards: Kostoulas 33; Kadioglu 45; Struijk 71; De Kuyper 90
Arsenal lineup:
Raya; Gabriel M.; Timber Y. (Subimendi, 60); Konsa; Calafiori; Saka B. (Dauman M., 81); Odegaard (Djokereš, 73); Havertz; Guimaraes B. (Merino, 60); Rice; Tsolis (Eze, 73)
Substitutions: Subimendi (from 60); Merino (from 60); Eze (from 73); Djokereš (from 73); Dauman M. (from 81)
Reserves: Arrizabalaga; Incapye; Lewis-Skelly; Maduéke
Yellow cards: Rice 90
