Arsenal Players Rated And Slated After Brighton Defeat

2026-09-20 · GiveMeSport

Arsenal produced a diabolical performance away at Brighton in the Premier League on Saturday, losing 3-0 to Fabian Hurzeler's side.

Arsenal's long unbeaten run came to an end on Saturday afternoon as Brighton thumped Mikel Arteta's men 3-0 at the Amex Stadium in the Premier League .

The Gunners struggled early on with Brighton's aggressive press, almost gifting the home team a goal on multiple occasions. After eventually gaining a foothold, Arteta's side did then fall behind courtesy of a wonderful long-range effort from Pascal Gross.

Charalampos Kostoulas doubled Brighton's advantage on the stroke of half-time, firing another stunning strike beyond David Raya. This capped off a somewhat disastrous opening 45 minutes for Arsenal , who couldn't deal with Brighton's press and then struggled to break through Fabian Hurzeler's side's low block when the home team did drop deep into their shape.

The Seagulls extended their lead shortly into the second period when Chema Andres nodded in from a Gross corner, and they only looked like adding to their tally as they relentlessly penned a meek Arsenal into their own defensive third.

David Raya - C

Was too keen to launch it long towards Kai Havertz at times, but made a crucial early save from Kostoulas, preventing the Gunners from having an early mountain to climb.

However, he eventually let a number of goals in, and while he had little chance on any of them, his uncertainty was atypical of the Spaniard and didn't inspire confidence.

Jurrien Timber - C-

Struggled a little in possession, particularly in the early stages, as he looked to shake off some rust. However, he grew into the game and gave nothing away defensively for the most part.

Needs more minutes in his legs before he can be properly judged, as this was certainly a very rusty performance.

Ezri Konsa - D+

Found it difficult on the ball against Brighton's aggressive press. While he largely managed to retain possession, there were several nervy moments where he almost caused disastrous turnovers.

The England international certainly wasn't clearly at fault for any of the goals conceded, but he didn't cover himself in glory with the way Brighton were constantly able to find space in Arsenal's final third.

Gabriel Magalhaes - B-

Produced some excellent defensive recoveries as Brighton looked to counter, but was arguably a bit lax when he should've closed Kostoulas down for the Seagulls' second goal.

Arsenal looked vulnerable from set-pieces throughout, which is likely a symptom of a weak aerial display from their Brazilian defender.

Riccardo Calafiori - C+

His wonders forward left Brighton with space to exploit on the left-hand side of Arsenal's defence, and Fabian Hurzeler's outfit did this effectively.

That said, this was the tactical instruction the Italian likely received from his manager, so he can't really be blamed for it, and he still managed to produce some dangerous moments in and around the final third.

Declan Rice - B-

Worked doggedly defensively, but it wasn't his day on the ball. He played a few too many loose passes and his odd carry forward rarely led to anything productive.

Despite this, the Englishman's floor is so high, and his presence alone helped keep Brighton's attack from adding more goals in transition.

Bruno Guimaraes - D+

There were a few bright runs into the box early on from the Brazilian, but he ultimately didn't really affect the game in the way he'd have wanted.

There are still some teething issues in his relationship with Rice, with both players seemingly not always sure where they should be in each phase of the game. Arteta needs more time for the pair to work things out positionally.

Martin Odegaard - C-

Tried to get on the ball as frequently as possible, but often dropped too deep to try and influence the game and rarely offered anything dangerous.

He was hooked in the second half after struggling to get into the game and not coping well with Brighton's physical approach.

Bukayo Saka - B-

He was certainly at the heart of Arsenal's most dangerous moments in the first half, but he just about lacked the burst and precision to really harm Brighton's defence.

His influence faded as the Gunners capitulated in the second half, but he still felt like the most likely to find the back of the net.

Kai Havertz - C-

Struggled a little in the physical battle with Lukas Vuskovic at times, who is as aerially dominant as any centre-back in the league.

He also spurned Arsenal's most glaring chance late on when played in by Viktor Gyokeres.

Christos Tzolis - D

A fairly quiet afternoon for the Greek, who struggled to get into the game as Arsenal focused most of their attacks down the right.

As effective as he's been creatively so far for the Gunners, Tzolis has yet to show himself as a goal threat.

Substitutes

Mikel Merino - C-

Arguably the wrong man to bring on when Arsenal were looking for some control, Mikel Merino is an aggressive passer rather than a secure one, and the Gunners subsequently lost even more control after he was introduced.

Martin Zubimendi - B

Introduced at right-back in place of a flagging Timber, Martin Zubimendi was steady in possession, whilst largely coping defensively in this unnatural role.

Eberechi Eze - C-

Couldn't get into the game at all whilst stuck out on the left wing. He's yet to conquer this new wide role that he finds himself in.

Viktor Gyokeres - C

The game was gone when he was introduced, and his presence certainly added very little, barring a nicely worked chance for Havertz that he created.

Max Dowman -

Not on long enough to grade.

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