Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has criticised his players for failing to respect the demands of the game during their 3-0 Premier League defeat to Brighton at the Amex Stadium.

The defeat ended Arsenal’s winning start to the season after eight consecutive victories and represented their heaviest Premier League loss in three years.

Pascal Gross opened the scoring for Brighton before Charalampos Kostoulas doubled the advantage shortly before half-time. Chema Andres added a third nine minutes after the restart as Brighton secured a convincing victory.

Arteta said Brighton were superior in the physical aspects of the contest, winning first and second duels and repeatedly recovering possession from Arsenal.

“It was a very disappointing result and performance,” Arteta said, while giving credit to Brighton for the way they approached the match.

He said Arsenal were particularly poor technically when attempting to play from their own half and failed to apply the principles required to deal with Brighton’s man-to-man pressing.

Arteta added that the team repeatedly put itself under pressure from the opening stages, allowing Brighton to dictate the contest.

“There are a lot of moments when the ball is 50-50 and it changes hands, and most of the time it was for them,” he said.

The Arsenal manager acknowledged that technical errors also contributed to the team’s problems but said the players needed to learn from the defeat.

Brighton’s pressure was reflected in the statistics, with the hosts winning possession in the final third nine times, their second-highest total in a Premier League match this season and the highest recorded against Arsenal during the current or previous campaign, according to Opta data cited by Sky Sports.

Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler praised his players for their intensity and commitment, saying they had performed the basic aspects of the game effectively and deserved the victory.

The result moved Brighton to third place, two points behind Arsenal, while Arsenal’s defeat gives Manchester City an opportunity to move three points clear at the top with victory over Sunderland.

Arteta, however, said the defeat should be viewed as a lesson rather than erasing the team’s strong start to the campaign.