Arsenal suffers first defeat of EPL title defence

Arsenal slumped to the first loss of their English Premier League (EPL) title defence — and it was a heavy one at Brighton.

After four straight wins for the champions, the 3-0 defeat at Amex Stadium on Saturday came somewhat out of nowhere.

The third goal, which was conceded from a corner kick — typically an area of strength for Arsenal — summed up an unusually sloppy performance from Mikel Arteta’s team.

Pascal Gross and Charalampos Kostoulas scored in the first half with shots from outside the penalty area, before Chema Andres completed the win with a header at the back post from Gross’ corner.

“There are certain basics that you need to accomplish in football, especially in the Premier League, that we were very far from,” said Arteta, who described the defeat as a “big lesson.”

The victory was especially sweet for Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler, who said “only one team tried to play football” after his team’s narrow home loss to Arsenal last season.

Arsenal has often struggled against Brighton, which was the last team to inflict such a heavy defeat on the Gunners in any competition — winning 3-0 at Emirates Stadium in May 2023.

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