Brighton press the life out of humbled champions Arsenal
Brighton and Hove Albion's Yasin Ayari (right) and Arsenal's Gabriel battle for the ball during the Premier League match at Vitality Stadium, Brighton. Picture: Gareth Fuller/PA Wire.
The irresistible force against the immovable object? And then some. Premier League champions Arsenal brought their league-best defensive record to the Amex to face the division’s top scorers and saw it blown away by a Brighton side who have now found opponents’ nets 16 times in five games.
It was some way for Brighton to celebrate the club’s 125th anniversary. Pascal Gross, in the form of his life at 35, put Brighton ahead in the 31st minute, only the second time this season the Arsenal rearguard had been breached.
Charalampos Kostoulas, 19, doubled the lead just before half time, seconds after Bukayo Saka had almost equalised. Former Real Madrid midfielder Chema Andres made it 3-0 after 56 minutes of his first Premier League start.
Pressed to distraction by Gross and company, Arsenal could not any sort of foothold in the game for long periods. “Champions of England? You’re having a laugh,” sang the home crowd.
BHA wore a bespoke 125th anniversary kit modelled on the 1901 original and they looked even less like themselves without captain Lewis Dunk, denied his 300th Premier League start by an injury suffered in training on Friday.
The home fans were soon cheering as their side took the game to Arsenal, winning the ball high up the pitch and seeing Yasin Ayari, Kostoulas and Pascal Struijk having shots blocked.
It took Arsenal the best part of the first half-hour minutes to compose themselves, but just when a Gunners goal began to look possible, Brighton scored. There seemed little danger when Kostoulas angled a pass into the ageless Gross, but Arsenal backed off and the Germany midfielder clearly thought “Why not?” and his low shot from 18 yards clipped Raya’s near post on its way in.
It was 2-0 in a hectic 45th minute, which began with Arsenal breaking away from a Brighton corner and somehow not scoring, Bukayo Saka volleying gently into the hands of Bart Verbruggen, who was playing his 100th Premier league game.
It ended with Kostoulas receiving from Diego Gomez, turning and – like Gross – finding no Arsenal defender considering a tackle, shot low past Raya’s right hand. It was the Greece striker’s fourth goal of the season in all competitions.
56 minutes, 3-0, and from the sort of situation that is usually the London club’s strength – in effect, Arsenal were Arsenalled. While their big men concentrated on the towering Luka Vuskovic from Gross’s corner, the equally towering Andres, signed from Stuttgart on transfer deadline day for £15.5m, headed home unopposed, becoming Brighton’s ninth different scorer this season.
Arsenal took off Martin Odergaard and sent on one-time Brighton striker Viktor Gyokeres and old Crystal Palace enemy Eberechi Eze, to no visible effect. Five minutes later Havertz was clean through on goal and hit the ball straight at Verbruggen. Not Arsenal’s day, to put it mildly.
Verbruggen 6; Kadioglu 6 (Costinha 77), Vuskovic 8, Struijk 7 (Svoboda 86), Boscagli 7; Gross 8, Chema 7 (O’Riley 86); Gomez 6 (Yalcouye 86), Ayari 7, De Cuyper 7; Kostoulas 7 (Rutter 77).
Booked: Kostoulas, Kadioglu, Struijk.
Raya 6; Timber 6, Konsa 5, Gabriel 6, Calafiori 5; Rice 6; Saka 6 (Dowman 81), Odegaard 6 (Gyokeres 73), Guimaraes 5 (Merino 60), Tzolis 5 (Eze 73); Havertz 6.
Booked: Rice.
Darren England 8.
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