PHOTOS: Brighton hand Arsenal first Premier League defeat

Brighton & Hove Albion ended Arsenal’s perfect start to the 2026/27 Premier League season with a 3-0 victory at the American Express Stadium on Saturday, handing the defending champions their first defeat of the campaign.

Pascal Groß opened the scoring in the 31st minute before teenage forward Charalampos Kostoulas doubled Brighton’s advantage on the stroke of half-time.

Chema Andrés then headed in Brighton’s third nine minutes after the restart to complete a memorable victory.

The result ended Arsenal’s run of seven consecutive wins at the start of the season and denied Mikel Arteta’s side what would have been a historic continuation of their best opening to a campaign in more than a century.

Brighton, meanwhile, continued their impressive attacking form after scoring 13 goals in their first four league matches.

They controlled large periods of the match and repeatedly troubled Arsenal with their pressing and quick attacks.

Groß gave the hosts the lead with a strike from the edge of the penalty area before Kostoulas produced another long-range finish to send Brighton into the interval two goals ahead.

Andrés added the third with a header early in the second half, leaving Arsenal with a difficult task of finding a way back into the contest.

Arsenal was unable to produce a response as Brighton secured a clean sheet and moved to 10 points after five league matches. Arsenal remained on 12 points.

The match also came as Brighton celebrated their 125th anniversary.

The club was formed in 1901 and marked the occasion with a special matchday programme and commemorative activities at the Amex.

Their first competitive match was played on September 21, 1901.

The two clubs have a much longer history of meetings than their modern Premier League rivalry might suggest.

Their first recorded competitive meeting came in the FA Cup in 1935, when Arsenal won 2-0.

Brighton later joined Arsenal in the top flight and the clubs met regularly during the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Before this match, Arsenal held the overall advantage in the head-to-head record.

Across 35 meetings in major competitions, Arsenal had won 20, Brighton eight and the teams had drawn seven, according to historical records.

Brighton had also struggled to beat Arsenal at home in recent years.

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