Brighton rout Arsenal 3-0 on the south coast as Spurs remain winless after Villa defeat
Arsenal were beaten 3-0 by Brighton & Hove Albion on the south coast on Saturday in a Premier League match, ending the champions' perfect start to the season. Tottenham Hotspur also slipped to a 3-2 home defeat by Aston Villa, leaving them without a league win.
Arsenal had begun the campaign with seven successive victories across competitions, including wins in their opening four league fixtures, but were comprehensively outplayed by a Brighton side marking their 125th anniversary. The defeat represented the first reverse of the campaign for the reigning champions. Brighton dominated large periods on the day and frequently tested Arsenal’s defence.
Pascal Gross broke the deadlock in the 31st minute with a low effort that went in off the post. Charalampos Kostoulas made it 2-0 with a similar finish after a Brighton counter-attack, and after the interval Chema Andres headed home from close range to complete the scoring. Brighton had further chances as Arsenal’s back line remained under sustained pressure.
At Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Aston Villa struck first in first-half stoppage time when Johan Manzambi tapped in following a period in which Tottenham were temporarily reduced to 10 men while Micky van de Ven received treatment for a cut to the face. Nicolas Jackson extended Villa’s lead in the 67th minute and Emi Buendia produced a long-range strike 11 minutes from time to put Villa firmly in control. Tottenham reduced the deficit late through Conor Gallagher and Jan Paul van Hecke but could not salvage a result; Villa secured their first league win of the campaign.
The loss left Spurs having lost three of their five league matches, the other two ending in draws. The defeat added to pressure on manager Roberto De Zerbi after his side also suffered a League Cup defeat earlier this week. Tottenham’s heavy summer spending — reported at around $400 million on a major squad rebuild — has not yet yielded league wins, and Spain right-back Pedro Porro was forced off with an injury in the first half of the Villa game.
Newcastle United recorded a 2-1 victory over promoted Hull City, handing Hull their first league defeat of the season. Newcastle raced into a two-goal lead inside the opening seven minutes through Joe Willock and Lewis Hall, and although Mohamed-Ali Cho pulled one back midway through the second half Hull could not find an equaliser. Everton extended their unbeaten start with a 1-0 win over Ipswich Town as Thierno Barry scored the only goal, moving Everton into the Premier League’s top five while Ipswich left empty-handed.
Coventry City were due to travel to Nottingham Forest later on Saturday, with the visitors still searching for their first points of the season.
