Brighton 3-0 Arsenal, and the scoreline was the flattering bit. Pascal Groß and Charalampos Kostoulas both hit them from distance before the break, and Cheme Andrés made it three just after the hour. Arsenal's first defeat of the season, and nothing about it was close.
Arteta called it a big lesson and said his side didn't respect the game. Harsh word, "respect", and he wasn't reaching for it by accident. When a manager goes past tactics and starts talking about basics not being done, he's telling you he saw players who thought the afternoon would come to them.
Ezri Konsa's line was no excuses, we weren't good enough. That'll do.
Bruno Guimarães and Jurriën Timber both started, with Raya behind a back four of Timber, Konsa, Gabriel and Calafiori, and a bench carrying Eze, Madueke, Gyökeres, Merino and Dowman. Plenty there to change a game. None of it changed this one.
Brighton went third on the back of it, on the day they marked their 125th anniversary in special shirts. Arsenal stay second with four wins from five. Now three weeks of international football to sit with it, which after a day like this is either the best thing possible or the worst.
Arsenal Women 1-1 Manchester United at the Emirates, Zigotti putting United ahead late before Smilla Holmberg equalised in the fifth minute of stoppage time. Third game without a win at this ground. Arseblog News makes the point that United had beaten Arsenal by shutting them out three times last season, and after losing 5-0 to Chelsea last weekend Eva Olid was never going to come and play — a two-goal cushion was never the plan, a low block was.
The win that would have equalled the club-record unbeaten run didn't arrive. Chelsea at home next Sunday.
Norwich City 1-5 Arsenal for the U18s, which is the only unambiguously good number on the board this weekend.
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