Brighton & Hove Albion delivered a stunning performance at the American Express Stadium on Saturday, beating Premier League champions Arsenal 3-0 to hand Mikel Arteta’s side their first league defeat of the season.

The Seagulls made a fast start and consistently unsettled an Arsenal side that had won their opening four Premier League matches and their first seven games across all competitions.

Pascal Groß opened the scoring in the 31st minute, finding space on the edge of the penalty area before placing a precise effort into the bottom-right corner.

Arsenal struggled to establish control, although they came close to an equaliser before the break. Bukayo Saka was unable to convert after Martin Ødegaard’s deflected effort fell to him inside the area.

Brighton punished the miss almost immediately. Charalampos Kostoulas was allowed space on the edge of the box and fired a powerful strike into the bottom-left corner, leaving David Raya with no chance.

Arteta made no changes at half-time as Arsenal sought a response, but Brighton extended their advantage 12 minutes after the restart.

Chema Andrés rose above the Arsenal defence to meet Groß’s corner and headed into the bottom-right corner in the 57th minute to make it 3-0.

Arsenal continued searching for a way back into the contest, with Kai Havertz, Saka and Riccardo Calafiori among those who threatened, but Brighton’s defence remained disciplined.

Havertz had another opportunity in the 78th minute but was denied by goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen, while Raya prevented Matt O’Riley from adding a fourth at the other end.

Brighton’s victory capped an impressive run of form for Fabian Hürzeler’s side, who had collected seven points from their opening four league matches before the clash and followed it with a 5-0 victory over Coventry City.

The result moved Brighton up to third place, two points behind the leaders, while Arsenal dropped to second on goal difference after suffering their first league defeat of the campaign.