Mikel Arteta faces Arsenal midfield dilemma after Bruno Guimaraes, Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard bullied by Brighton

MIKEL ARTETA’s workaholic nature meant he was never likely to put his feet up during this extended international break. And Arsenal being torn apart at Brighton over the weekend has definitely crushed that idea. Brighton were convincing 3-0 winners against Arsenal last weekend Credit: Shutterstock Editorial Mikel Arteta has plenty ponder before Arsenal’s next game against Leeds on October 10 Credit: Reuters The Gunners were all at sea on the south coast as they suffered their biggest Premier League defeat for more than three years. It was also only the second time in their last 158 matches that Arsenal conceded more than twice in the same game. Sign up for the Arsenal newsletter Thank you! Stats like that mean Arteta can partly put this defeat down as simply one of those days where nothing went right. And the fact that this was Arsenal’s fourth away game in the space of nine days no doubt played its part. But this was still a wake-up call for the champions and Arteta has plenty to ponder before his side host Leeds in their next game on October 10. That is especially the case when it comes to the make-up of Arsenal’s midfield, who were suffocated by Brighton’s pressing. Seagulls midfielder Yasin Ayari explained: “You have to be aggressive and intense against teams like this. “If you give them too much time, they feel comfortable playing around and it will be hard. Most read in Sport BEST FREE BETS AND BETTING SIGN UP OFFERS “You have to put pressure on them, and we know that we are a good team when we press high with a lot of intensity.” Brighton executed their gameplan perfectly and the end result was the rare sight of Declan Rice being overrun. Martin Odegaard could not bring the control he usually does and Bruno Guimaraes was hooked on the hour mark. Brazilian Guimaraes has impressed with his cameos off the bench since joining from Newcastle in the summer for £75million, but he did not make the most of his first start in the Prem this season. He said: “I have to adapt, and I’m getting there. “But this game is one to forget for me, and the whole team. It was a bad day at the office for everyone.” Teams will have taken note of Arsenal’s struggles at the Amex and how they could not cope with Brighton swarming them. Arguably, few sides can replicate such an aggressive man-to-man press because it is hard to think of any team as well-drilled as Fabian Hurzeler’s team. On the evidence of this, Albion are contenders to qualify for the Champions League this season. Even so, Arteta will want to have a plan in place to ensure that his side cannot be undone by the same tactic again. The Spaniard has plenty of options, being spoilt for choice when it comes to midfielders. Two of his substitutions in the second half involved bringing on World Cup winners Martin Zubimendi and Mikel Merino. By the time they came on at the hour mark, however, it was too late to turn the tide. Chema Andres had just added a third after Pascal Gross and Charalampos Kostoulas’ first-half strikes. Bruno Guimaraes struggled to make an impact against Brighton after starting in midfield Credit: Alamy Arsenal ratings v Brighton Finding the right midfield will take time and Arteta may opt for a horses-for-courses approach. The issue is that he has so many combinations to choose from – and against Brighton the balance felt wrong. In hindsight, Arteta may regret not using Myles Lewis-Skelly as his pace and power in the middle of the park were missed. Arsenal’s midfield being out of sorts was jarring because Brighton’s looked so sharp. Newcomer Andres oozed calm. This was the Spaniard’s first Prem start and it is not hard to see why he has the nickname ‘Baby Rodri’. In a summer where fees for midfielders were utterly bonkers, Brighton have found a bargain by snapping him up for just £15.5m from Stuttgart. Holding it all together was Gross, making a mockery of the fact he is 35 by starting this season with four goals in eight games. Hurzeler said: “The older he gets, the better he is. You can compare him a little bit with a good wine.” The Brighton chief may have treated himself to a glass of claret after this win over Arsenal – but he is not getting carried away. Arteta should also keep calm, even though there are problems to address. Let us not forget the Gunners had won seven on the spin – including the Community Shield – before this Amex trip. There were always going to be bumps in the road this season, even if people are tipping Arsenal to retain their Prem crown. The key for Arteta is finding the answers – and he has nearly three weeks to do so as the bumper break gets under way. Comment now