Perfect, no more. Arsenal were one of the only teams in the top five leagues to win all their games so far this season until a 3-0 defeat away at Brighton. The Seagulls showed why they are currently the highest-scoring team in the Premier League, leading 2-0 at half-time with Arsenal unable to get back into the game. For a game like this, they needed Victor Jacques, brought in from Sporting CP, up front, but instead they brought in players like 16-year-old Max Donman to turn things around.
Of course, Brighton’s excellent recruitment, the introduction of 19-year-old Charalampos Kostoulas, who has a goal and an assist, the return of Pascal Gross, and the club’s gradual improvement under the leadership of Fabian Hurzeler, all deserve respect. Huerzeller remains the youngest manager in the Premier League and now finds his side in the title race after beating Arsenal at home. Brighton may fade away in the long term, but with Chelsea, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United struggling, there’s a void among the Premier League’s elite that they’re poised to fill.
Arsenal had conceded just one goal in the Premier League before this game, with Brighton leading by three and, of course, the Seagulls had an expected goals average of over 1.41 in the game, but the question of what happens when Arsenal fall behind looms. It was their biggest loss in almost three years, as was Brighton under Roberto De Zerbi. Arsenal only had eight shots on goal, and none came from the five substitutes brought in to change the game.
Can a corner change the title race?
The Gunners have plenty of depth on defense, but that doesn’t translate to offense. Most of the time you’d throw your hat in the ring to get a result like this, but the title gap between Arsenal and Manchester City is probably less than five points. City have never been out of a game under Erling Haaland, and while scoring against Arsenal is one of the hardest things to do in the Premier League, their attack doesn’t strike fear into their opponents when it comes to eliminating set pieces.
In five games this season, Arsenal have had 16 dead-ball shots, but none have scored. Looking back at the Premier League last season, they scored 23 goals in 177 shots in the same scenario. Part of this decline is due to stricter enforcement of fights in the penalty area, but according to a study by Michael Caley Looking forward to scoring a goal Newsletters and Dual Pivot PodcastGoalkeepers are also defending corners differently, throwing more punches and grabbing the ball more often, causing the number of goals scored per corner to drop from 0.48 goals per game to 0.28 goals per game, the lowest number since the 2015-16 season.
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If Arsenal are unable to score from set-pieces, the reliance on Kai Havertz and Jock Reis could become a liability. The gap at the top of the league is quite thin, with Arsenal now favorites to win it again after winning it last season. Defending the Premier League title is a tough thing to do and losing like this now before the international break will only give the club more time to process the result. Of course, Arsenal have to be doubted after winning the title, but this game can only be a blip rather than the start of a new trend as they look to work hard to retain the title.