Alan Shearer has sent a Premier League title warning to Arsenal after they were “well beaten” by Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday.
Arsenal made a stunning start to the 2026/27 campaign, having won their first seven games across all competitions.
However, Mikel Arteta‘s side were given a reality check on Saturday afternoon with a disappointing 3-0 loss against Brighton.
This scoreline did not flatter Brighton, and Shearer thinks Arsenal were “well beaten” by Fabian Hurzeler’s team.
“That performance can’t happen too many times…”
Despite this, Shearer has insisted that there is no need for Arsenal to “panic”, though he has sent them a warning in relation to the Premier League title.
“They’ve been beaten, they’ve been well beaten,” Shearer said on Match of the Day while watching back Rice’s kick on Malick Yalcouye.
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“It could have been six or seven and this was frustration from Declan Rice.
“Yalcouye gives him a little nudge there and I do think the referee gets that right. He gives him a yellow card.
“I don’t think it was too aggressive, he didn’t lash out at him, therefore I think the referee got that right, but it sort of summed Arsenal’s day up.”
On the Premier League title race, Shearer continued: “I would say there’s no panic because after five games last season, Arsenal had ten points.
“After five games this season, they’ve got 12 points.
“But that performance can’t happen too many times, if again.”
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Fellow pundit Danny Murphy, meanwhile, argued that Arsenal were “second best in every department” against Brighton, and the performance was not a “one-off”.
“Arsenal were second best in every department and I have to say, I haven’t seen a team do that to Arsenal for a long, long time,” Murphy said.
“Since the beginning of last season, nobody has had higher turnovers that Brighton did today with their intensity.
“This isn’t a one-off by the way because I’ve done three of their games this season and they’ve been exactly the same in all the games.
“It doesn’t always go for them, sometimes they concede, but it’s a brave way to play.
“The fans are enjoying it and they’re gonna cause teams some problems.”
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