Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has described the club’s 3-0 defeat to Brighton as a “big lesson”, warning his players that complacency could prove costly in the Premier League title race.
The Gunners suffered their first defeat of the season on Saturday at the American Express Stadium, with Brighton producing a dominant display to hand the defending champions a heavy setback.
Brighton took control from the opening stages and repeatedly exposed gaps in Arsenal’s usually disciplined defence. 
Pascal Gross and Charalampos Kostoulas struck before half-time, while Chema Andres headed in Brighton’s third early in the second half to complete a convincing victory.
The defeat was Arsenal’s heaviest by more than two goals in more than three years.
Reacting after the match, Arteta admitted that Brighton deserved the victory and criticised his side’s failure to meet the basic demands of Premier League football.
“Extremely disappointed. First of all, I think we have to congratulate Brighton for the victory; I think they deserve it,” Arteta said.
“I think they were the better team. From our side, there were certain basics that you need to accomplish in football, especially in the Premier League, that we were very far from.”
The setback comes after Arsenal made a perfect start to the campaign, winning their opening seven matches in all competitions and raising expectations that they could retain the Premier League title.
However, Arteta said the defeat had provided a timely reminder of the demands of a long season, particularly with a three-week international break now giving his squad time to reflect.
“It’s a big lesson for us,” the Spanish coach added.
“That’s not going to take away what the team has done, and the boys have done in the last six or seven weeks since coming back from the World Cup.
“With 18 players coming back, what we’ve done and the way we’ve competed and the amount of games we’ve won has been remarkable.
“But this is a big lesson for all of us to understand what it takes to win at this level.”
Arteta will now look to use the international break to regroup his squad before Arsenal resume their campaign, with the Brighton defeat serving as their first major setback of the season.
