Arteta rues Arsenal collapse as Brighton end unbeaten run

Mikel Arteta said Arsenal had themselves to blame for their heaviest Premier League defeat in over three years, a 3-0 loss at Brighton that ended the champions' seven-match winning start to the season.

Goals from Pascal Gross, Haralambos Kostoulas and Chema Andres condemned Arsenal at the Amex, with Kostoulas — the teenage forward who has scored six times since joining Brighton in October — among the scorers. Arsenal had arrived on the south coast chasing an 123-year club record of eight straight wins to open a season, and instead surrendered top spot to Manchester City on goal difference.

The match had an ugly coda. Deep into six added minutes, Declan Rice kicked out at Brighton substitute Malick Yalcouye after being closed down, and referee Darren England produced only a yellow card. Former PGMOL head Keith Hackett told Football Insider the incident was, in law, a violent action, and that England was fortunate not to have shown red, drawing a comparison with Bruno Fernandes' unpunished kick on Phil Foden the previous weekend. Both Phil Foden and Aston Villa's Joao Gomes have been sent off for kicking out this season, though in each of those cases the offending player was on the ground rather than running, as Rice was.

Arsenal now have the international break to regroup before Leeds United visit the Emirates in October. If Saturday's habits —, and Rice's loss of composure at the end — go unaddressed, the pressure from a may only grow.