Well, I do t think anyone really saw that coming.

Brighton was never going to be an easy game. It was probably our hardest game of last season and we were lucky to escape with a 1-nil win. This time we were not so lucky.

3-nil is a crushing defeat. Brighton played brilliantly, pressing us aggressively and we’re fully deserved of their win.-

Another day and we might have seen a different result. The opening goal was a perfectly placed shot by Pascal Gross. In off the post, and inch to the right and it would have hit the post and gone out, an inch to the left and David Raya would have saved it.

Had we got to half time at 1-nil, we would have been in with a shot. The 2nd goal killed our hopes and after that we played like a team just wanting to keep the score down.

This was our 4th away game in 10 days. That is a big work load for any team – even the Champions with the squad depth we have. It is a lot of travel, and not much time to prepare or rest between games.

The biggest concern for me is how poor the midfield was. Arguably our best area in the pitch, we have one of the best midfields in the world. But Declan Rice, Bruno and Martin Odegaard crumbled under the pressure Brighton midfielders put them under. The result was attackers starved of the ball, and our defence struggling to ply the ball out.

This was the first time Rice, Bruno and Odegaard had started together. The tactic seemed to be to have Rice and Bruno rotating as the deepest midfielder. It did not really work and we certainly missed having Martin Zubimendi or Myles Lewis Skelly as the deepest midfielder, picking that ball up off the defence.

Rice is always better suited to plying a bit more advanced. His only real weakness is picking up the ball off the defence with his back to play. He does not really have that hip swivel to give himself the space to get his head up and ply a forward pass.

And likewise I always feel Bruno needs to before advanced, getting around the pitch and influencing play.

It is too early to say Arteta’s new midfield did not work. It was, remember, their first game together. But this is something Arteta will need to work on and resolve.

Does he commit to this rotating midfield, dos he tell Bruno he has stay back, or does he revert to either Zubimendi or Lewis Skelly and start jut one of Rice or Bruno?

With plenty of games, there can be more than enough rotating to keep everyone fresh and happy. Arteta just needs to find a formula that works and stick with it.

We should not take anything away from Brighton today. It was as much them making our midfield look poor as it was the poor performances.

They are 3rd in the league and deserve to be there. Their only defeat was the 4-3 against Chelsea. They’ve already beaten Aston Villa 4-nil at home, thrashed Coventry 5-nil away, and had that brilliant League Cup comeback win against Man U mid week. They look a very well put together side.

As we all know, winning the league is not easy. Some will be bandwagon jumping today, saying this shows Arsenal are a poor team. But Brighton will take more points off “top” teams at the Amex. And if it is not Brighton, other teams will snatch victories against Man City and Liverpool.

It will be a tough season again, and a team that beat City we may steamroll. And likewise a team that does us may lay down and be tickled by City.

What won us the league last season is how we bounced back from disappointing results.

We now go into an international break. The next game is not until Leeds on 10 October. That is a nice game to come back to. 3 points will get us back on track and likely put us top of the league again.

Enjoy your Sunday.

Keenos

There is something about a trip to Brighton that always makes me a little nervous.

Maybe it is the memory of awkward afternoons on the south coast. Maybe it is the fact that Brighton are rarely interested in making life comfortable for anyone. Or perhaps it is simply the very Arsenal-fan instinct of refusing to relax, even when everything is going rather well.

And, right now, things are going rather well.

Arsenal head to the Amex today with a perfect record. In the Premier League we have taken maximum points from our opening four matches. The latest was a controlled 2-0 victory away at Sunderland, following wins over Coventry, Chelsea and Aston Villa.

Victories have also come in the Champions League, League Cup and Community Shield – 7 games played, 7 wins.

But Brighton are hardly waiting around to admire our start.

The Seagulls arrive after putting five past Coventry last weekend, and that result underlined the attacking threat Arsenal will have to deal with. Their opening weeks have produced plenty of goals, including a 4-0 victory over Aston Villa, so this is not a side we can afford to underestimate.

From an Arsenal perspective, the big question is whether we can impose the control we have seen in recent weeks.

That feels particularly important at the Amex. Brighton will want to move the ball quickly, pull Arsenal’s shape around and create the kind of open game that can become uncomfortable very quickly. For the Gunners, patience may be just as important as attacking quality.

And then there is Bukayo Saka.

There is something wonderfully reassuring about having Saka available when Arsenal need a moment of inspiration. He scored the late penalty against Sunderland and will surely be one of the players Brighton have spent the week thinking about.

The recent head-to-head record also gives Arsenal fans something to cling to: the Gunners won 1-0 on our last visit to the Amex in March, while also beating Brighton twice at home last season.

Still, this is Brighton away. We know better than to expect an easy afternoon.

Three points would keep the momentum going and, perhaps more importantly, provide another indication that this Arsenal side can handle the less glamorous, more difficult tests that arrive throughout a Premier League season.

So, naturally, I am feeling completely calm about it.

Absolutely no nerves whatsoever.

Probably.

DJ

There is something wonderfully exciting about watching a teenager walk into senior football and look completely at home.

There is also something deeply uncomfortable about what happens when they don’t.

Ayden Heaven knows both sides of that equation. The former Arsenal academy defender has now found himself trying to establish his place at Manchester United, and his difficult start to the 2026/27 Premier League campaign should provide an important lesson for another Hale End graduate: Marli Salmon.

Heaven has made just one Premier League start this season, playing the full 90 minutes in United’s 2–0 defeat away to Hull City. It was a difficult afternoon for Michael Carrick’s side, with Heaven among the young players whose introduction into a struggling team exposed just how unforgiving senior football can be.

He returned to the starting XI for the League Cup and had a torrid night as his team threw away a 2-nil lead to lose 3-2 at home to Brighton.

Heaven is not a bad defender. Far from it.

Still only 19, his development is nowhere near finished, and one or two poor performances – in a team that is performing poorly – should not define him.

But that’s precisely why his situation matters to Arsenal.

Salmon is only 17 and has already been trusted with first-team football. He made his senior debut last season, featured in the Champions League and FA Cup, and has continued to be involved around Arsenal’s first team. He has also now made another senior appearance this season, impressing in central defence against Ipswich Town in the Carabao Cup.

The temptation with players like Salmon is obvious: when a teenager looks composed against senior opposition, the natural reaction is to want more. More minutes. More starts. More responsibility.

We saw this is the summer with many fans having Salmon down as our 4th choice centre back. “No need for Konsa, we have Salmon” many fans shared.

But centre-back is a particularly cruel position for a youngster to learn in.

A midfielder can misplace a pass and recover. A winger can lose possession and have another opportunity five minutes later. For a central defender, one mistimed movement, one lapse in concentration or one poor decision can immediately become a goalscoring opportunity.

Mikel Merino made exactly this point when discussing Salmon after Arsenal’s win over Ipswich. The Spain international highlighted the maturity required to play at centre-back and stressed how important it is to avoid mistakes because every action can be crucial.

That is the balance Arsenal have to get right.

And it is a balance we got right when developing another talented young defender – William Saliba.

For some fans, Saliba spent too long on loan in France. They shouted for him to return a season earlier. Instead Arsenal sent him to Marseille who acted as a finishing school.

Whilst on loan, Saliba made mistakes. But away from the Premier League spotlight, he was able to move on from them quickly. And at 21 he was ready to return to Arsenal. Ready for first team Premier League football. And ready to become the best central defender in the world.

Salmon is clearly a talent. His progression from joining the academy at nine to making his first-team debut before turning 17 is evidence enough of the faith the club has placed in him.

But Heaven’s experience is a reminder that potential doesn’t remove the learning curve.

Arsenal don’t need Salmon to be flawless. They need to give him an environment where mistakes can be absorbed rather than magnified.

Another season of being in and around the Arsenal first team should be followed up by a loan to a Championship team in 12 months. That will get Salmon used to regular, physical first team football. That first elbow from a 6 3 English journeyman striker will make Salmon a man.

Come 2028/29 Salmon will still only be 19. That is still incredible young as a centre back. But he will be more ready to be involved in Arsenal’s first team squad on a regular basis.

Both Konsa and Gabriel will be 31 by then. Saliba 27 and Cristhian Mosquera just 24. The pathway for Salmon will be clear.

The difference between promising a teenager and breaking a teenager can sometimes be nothing more than timing.

And if Arsenal can take anything from Heaven’s difficult moments at United, it should be this: don’t confuse early exposure with finished development.

Salmon doesn’t need to be rushed simply because he looks ready.

He needs to be allowed to become ready.

Because the most exciting thing about Arsenal’s next generation isn’t how quickly they can become stars. It’s how carefully the club can help them get there.

Keenos