An upset Mikel Arteta branded Brighton’s pummelling of Arsenal as a ‘big lesson’ which had left him ‘extremely disappointed’ with his players on a shock afternoon for the reigning Premier League champions.

Goals from Pascal Gross and Charalampos Koustoulas put the Seagulls ahead by half-time, before Chema Andres’ header added the gloss on an emphatic display.

The Gunners had been dominated from the start, leaving Arteta furious over his team’s performance. It ends their seven-game unbeaten run across all competitions, and is Arsenal’s first league defeat since last April against Manchester City.

Arteta said: ‘Extremely disappointed, but first of all, I think we have to congratulate Brighton for the victory. I think they deserve it, they were the better team.

‘Brighton were another gear up from us. We were extremely poor technically and not respecting the game.

‘And 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.

Mikel Arteta said he was ‘extremely disappointed’ after Arsenal were beaten 3-0 by Brighton

Arteta admitted he had a negative feeling early on in the game in an abject display from his side

‘In the first duel, the second ball, that put the game, especially how direct they were, in a really difficult place for us.

‘On top of that, when we did regain the ball, especially in our own half, the amount of technical errors that we did and we didn’t respect any principle of play that you have to get out of those man-to-man situations.

‘That put us always on the back foot, so it was very difficult to control the game. When we had moments of dominance and control, we opened them up, but we didn’t finish those actions with the quality that is required.

‘So at the end of the day, I think they deserve to win the game and it’s a big lesson for us.’

Arteta admitted he had a negative feeling about the upcoming result from the very start of the game.

‘From the first throw-in you could sense it, it was so clear,’ he said.

‘We put ourselves in trouble one time, two times, three times and we need to get out of that much quicker than that. That’s one of the biggest lessons that we have to take from the game today.’

Meanwhile, an elated Hurzeler was full of praise for his Brighton team.

He said: ‘It was a special win. Not only because we played the best team in England but because of the performance. I am really proud of my team. It’s always important to enjoy these moments. We were horrible to play against.’

Asked if it was the best result of his career, Hurzeler added: ‘It is a difficult question to ask immediately after the game when the emotions are still high.

‘It is very important to stay humble. We have to enjoy this moment, but understand why we had success, and come back to our roots which is about being brilliant in the basics,and trusting each other.’