By Opta Analyst | Created at 2026-10-08 09:24:21 | Updated at 2026-10-09 13:08:33
1 day ago
A heavy defeat to Brighton was followed by injuries to some key players during the international break, but Arsenal have spent years building a squad capable of absorbing such setbacks. Now it‘s time for their depth to shine through.
It’s been a long three weeks for Arsenal fans. Three weeks to stew over their club’s worst result, and arguably poorest performance, in a very long time.
Mikel Arteta’s side were completely blown away by Brighton on Matchday 5 of the 2026-27 Premier League season. They lost 3-0 on the south coast, unable to cope with the intensity and relentlessness of Brighton’s press.
It was Arsenal’s biggest defeat in any competition for more than three years. The last time they lost a game by three or more goals was also against Brighton, back in a 3-0 home defeat in May 2023.
Then came the international break and the dreaded injuries that can accompany it.
Kai Havertz was forced off in Germany’s first game against the Netherlands with a suspected hamstring injury. Christos Tzolis then suffered the same fate against the same opposition for Greece last week. Both had started the season excellently for Arsenal; they could each now miss multiple weeks of action.
Ezri Konsa, who has slotted in superbly at the heart of the defence amid William Saliba’s continued absence, also had to withdraw early from England’s Nations League squad after sustaining a knock in training.
Suddenly, three members of Arsenal’s first-choice starting XI are doubts for this weekend. In the cases of Havertz and Tzolis, their absences could stretch well beyond that.
How quickly the mood can change.
Heading into MD5, it felt like there was no stopping the Gunners. They had won each of their first four Premier League games, as well as three more in other competitions, and few of their opponents had caused them any real problems. Then Brighton completely outplayed them, and they have now lost several first-choice players to injury.
But if any side has the resilience and squad depth to handle setbacks like these – and it’s worth saying that Arsenal are hardly the only team to have suffered injuries during the international break – it’s this one. Arteta will not be overly worried, and neither should the fans be.
The very fact the Brighton game was Arsenal’s heaviest defeat in more than three years shows just how rare it is for Arteta’s men to have an off day. It was only the second time in their last 158 matches in all competitions that they had conceded three goals. It’s also their only defeat in their last 16 games in all competitions.
This is a side who have been consistently dominant for more than 12 months, and defensively dominant for even longer.
Arsenal have typically responded well to setbacks, too. Since the start of 2024, they’ve lost back-to-back Premier League games just once, against Bournemouth and Manchester City in April this year. Saturday’s meeting with Leeds will be their 100th league game since the beginning of that year.
For context, City have suffered consecutive league defeats on three separate occasions over the same period.
There is every chance, then, that Arsenal bounce back strongly when the action returns. Leeds have done well this season and are one of only five unbeaten teams, but Arsenal have an excellent record against them.
The Gunners have won nine of the two teams’ last 10 Premier League meetings (D1), including the last seven by an aggregate score of 24-5. Last season, they won 5-0 at the Emirates and 4-0 at Elland Road.
That home meeting saw Viktor Gyökeres score the first goals of his Arsenal career, and he has netted more Premier League goals against Leeds (3) than any other opponent.
For all the harm the international break has done to Arsenal’s squad, the former Sporting CP striker is one player returning from a very productive few games, scoring in all four of Sweden’s Nations League matches. With Havertz sidelined, Gyökeres is his natural replacement.
The Swede has unfortunately become something of a figure of amusement among rival fans, having failed to fully live up to the lofty expectations that came with his big-money move to north London. While he has hardly been a slam-dunk signing, he remains a capable alternative to Havertz, is in good form, and should be able to lead the line effectively in upcoming fixtures against Leeds, Lille and Nottingham Forest.
It’s also worth remembering what he achieved last season. Gyökeres became the first player to score 20 or more goals in all competitions during his debut Arsenal season since Alexis Sánchez hit 25 in 2014-15. The only other player to do so for the club in the Premier League era is Thierry Henry, who scored 26 in 1999-2000. However you spin it, his goals undoubtedly helped Arsenal win the Premier League and reach the Champions League final.
In defence, should Konsa miss time, Cristhian Mosquera can step in once more, as he has done so often in his short Arsenal career.
The Spaniard started Arsenal’s first two games of the season as Arteta’s side kept successive clean sheets, before suffering a hamstring injury late on at Villa Park. Now back in training, Mosquera is the obvious player to come into the side should Konsa’s injury keep him out. That Arsenal can call on him is another indication of the depth they have built, particularly at the back.
We wrote when Arsenal signed Konsa that they were adding yet another ‘duel monster’ to their defensive ranks. Mosquera is very much a player in that mould as well. Since arriving at the club, he has recorded a 71.1% ‘true’ tackle win rate, which ranks behind only Saliba (74.5%) among Arsenal players.
Where the standard ‘tackles’ metric only considers an attempt successful when the ball is taken away from an opponent and excludes fouls, ‘true tackles’ rewards defenders for getting a touch on the ball even if the opponent retains possession. It gives us a more nuanced view of a player’s effectiveness when defending one-on-one, and is clearly an area in which Mosquera excels.
It’s on the left, however, where Arsenal are likely to be hit hardest. The left wing was an area they tried to strengthen with a genuine superstar over the summer, unsuccessfully pursuing both Morgan Rogers and Vinícius Júnior.
Tzolis’ impressive start has certainly softened the blow of not landing one of those big names, and he has quickly established himself as first choice following his move from Club Brugge.
That has left Eberechi Eze either coming off the bench to replace the Greece international in the league or starting from the left in cup competitions. With Tzolis now set to miss time, Eze is the likeliest candidate to take his place.
Eze has only really shown flashes of the considerable talent he clearly possesses during his time at Arsenal, usually saving it for matches against Tottenham. While that will always warm the hearts of supporters, his lack of consistency has caused a degree of frustration around his performances.
Eze also started on the left wing for England in their final Nations League game of the break against Czechia, playing the full 90 minutes. He was tidy but didn’t offer the same level of dynamism and threat that Anthony Gordon has shown recently.
However, like Tzolis, Eze possesses an excellent ability to drive his side up the pitch. The pair are joint top among Arsenal players this season for the average length of their carries (13 metres).
Eze has also demonstrated his penchant for taking on opponents. In all competitions this season, he’s attempted 4.3 dribbles per 90 minutes, which is third highest in the Arsenal squad behind Max Dowman (7.3) and Noni Madueke (5.6), and is considerably higher than Tzolis’ 1.8, who is safer in possession.
There’s no getting around it, though. Arsenal need him to influence games more. They’ll require a confident, swaggering Eze to emerge during this next mini run of games, as he’s likely to feature heavily.
For all that Eze and Gyökeres have flattered to deceive at times, being able to bring players of their calibre into the starting XI is a luxury few clubs can afford. At the back, meanwhile, the fact Mosquera is arguably Arsenal’s third-choice right-sided centre-back behind Saliba and Konsa speaks to the defensive depth Arteta has at his disposal.
The past three weeks have provided Arsenal with their first real bump of the season. A heavy defeat, followed by injuries to some important players, has punctured the momentum and sense of inevitability that had started to build.
But this is also exactly why Arsenal assembled a squad of such depth. There is a reason they started the season as favourites for the Premier League title; against Leeds this weekend, we may well be reminded why.
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