Arsenal’s visit to Brighton & Hove Albion ended as a sharp reminder that the principles which carried them last season can quickly turn against them when applied without flexibility.

Mikel Arteta had described the match as “a beautiful game to watch, I’m sure.” For Brighton, that prediction proved accurate. Arsenal were trapped by the home side’s pressure for long spells and repeatedly tried to play through a press that was designed to suffocate them.

The visitors rarely escaped their own half and, instead of choosing a more direct route, persisted with short passing close to goal. David Raya’s distribution drifted repeatedly into trouble, Martin Ødegaard was forced into endless turns in search of an opening, and Kai Havertz dropped deep without solving the problem. The result was an approach that only made Brighton’s job easier.

Arsenal’s inability to adapt stood out all the more because this is normally a side praised for its discipline and humility. On this occasion, they looked stubborn rather than assured. The match state demanded a different solution, especially against a Brighton side that had already proven how dangerous its pressing can be.

Once Brighton took control, Arsenal became increasingly stretched. The home side registered 17 shots, the most any Premier League team has managed against Arsenal since Manchester United’s opening-day performance last season. Brighton did much of its damage from turnovers, although two long-range attempts also highlighted a familiar weakness for Raya, who is more exposed by shots from distance than by efforts inside the box.

After falling behind to Pascal Groß’s opener, Arsenal grew more erratic in search of an equaliser. Bukayo Saka came close before the break, but that brief surge forward only left more space for Brighton to exploit.

There was also a touch of old frustration late on. Declan Rice, visibly unhappy at being moved to right-back for the final period, appeared to lose his composure. He had already spent some time spiraling before the full-time whistle, and his reaction summed up a frustrating afternoon for Arsenal.

Arsenal’s flawless opening to the 2026/27 campaign was brought to a sharp halt as Brighton & Hove Albion ran out 3-0 winners in the Premier League. What had been a controlled start to the season quickly unravelled, with Arsenal producing a passive first-half showing and then finding no route back after the interval.

Brighton set the tone early, pressing with intensity and punishing Arsenal’s slow reactions in defensive areas. The hosts’ first two goals followed a strikingly similar pattern, with Groß and Kostoulas both given the space to shoot from around 20 yards. Arsenal were slow to close down the ball, and Gabriel was singled out for failing to step out quickly enough, although the problems stretched across the team.

After the break, Arsenal were expected to respond, but the pattern barely changed. Brighton continued to control the contest, and Chema Andrés ended any lingering hope with a header that made the lead unassailable. Arsenal’s best chance to reduce the deficit fell to Kai Havertz, but he failed to take it.

The performance was especially surprising given how strong Arsenal’s defence had looked in the opening four league matches. Before this trip, Morgan Rogers had been the only player to score against David Raya, and Arsenal had conceded just 2.7 expected goals. At Brighton, though, the back line looked unusually sluggish, while the attack offered very little in return.

Mikel Arteta’s side never recovered their composure, and the closing stages brought little more than frustration for the travelling support. Arsenal were poor in possession, blunt in the final third and repeatedly beaten in defensive zones. It was not a collapse that should define their season, but it did end the sense of invulnerability that had built around them in recent weeks.

Mikel Arteta has not ruled out sending Max Dowman out on loan, but the Arsenal manager insists any decision will depend on finding the correct move for the 16-year-old midfielder.

So far, approaches for Dowman have been turned down, although Arteta suggested that stance could be reviewed in January. He said the club will continue to assess the teenager at regular intervals before deciding what serves his development best.

“We will evaluate every six months where we are, what is the best thing for him to do and from there make the right decisions,” Arteta reflected.

His reasoning is shaped by several moving parts. The manager pointed to Dowman’s needs, the situation inside the squad, the minutes available to him and the standard of his performances when he does play.

“It will depend on a lot of factors: what he needs, where the team is as well, the availability that we have in the squad, the amount of minutes that he’s playing, the quality he’s delivering when he’s got those minutes.

“We have to be open, but now the focus is to be here and impact the team.”

The discussion inevitably brings back memories of Ethan Nwaneri, whose progress followed a different and less straightforward path. Nwaneri broke through at the end of the 2022-23 season as the youngest player in Premier League history, before being sent back to the academy the next year.

He returned to the senior squad for 2024-25 and made 37 appearances in all competitions, helped by injuries elsewhere. But the following season saw his role reduced sharply, with only six Premier League outings in the first half of 2025-26.

That led to a January loan to Marseille at the request of then-manager Roberto De Zerbi, who left a few weeks later. Habib Beye took over and publicly questioned Nwaneri’s “everyday commitment,” while the midfielder finished the spell with only 412 minutes, fewer than he had already collected at Arsenal that season.

Arteta acknowledged the unpredictability of such moves when he said: “There have been many cases of that age that they’ve gone [on loan] and they’ve been successful, some others not,” adding, “Particularly, I think I was 17 when I went to Paris [Saint-Germain].”