Alan Shearer, the Premier League's all-time record goalscorer, has delivered a damning verdict on Arsenal's 3-0 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion at the AMEX Stadium on Saturday, declaring that the Seagulls had "absolutely battered" the reigning Premier League champions.

A perfect start shattered

Arsenal arrived in Sussex having made a strong opening to their title defence, but Brighton dismantled them from first whistle to last. Shearer was in no doubt about which side deserved to walk away with all three points.

"From start to finish today Brighton were magnificent — every single one of them played their part," Shearer said on BBC Radio 5 Live. "They were strong, they were fit, they went after Arsenal. They had no fear and it worked brilliantly for them. It should have been six or seven goals."

Hurzeler's organisation was the difference

Pascal Gross opened the scoring before Charalampos Kostoulas struck from distance to double the lead. Chema Andres then headed home from a corner to complete the rout and seal a commanding victory for Fabian Hurzeler's side.

Shearer credited the Brighton manager for instilling a tactical discipline that suffocated Arsenal's creativity throughout the match. "Every time they chased down the ball, they got it absolutely spot on," he explained. "They did it as a team, they didn't do it individually. They thought, 'We respect Arsenal but we're not going to give them any space to play.' The organisation was great and that just doesn't happen on its own. You've got to give Hurzeler credit for that."

Brighton could have scored more

Despite the convincing scoreline, Shearer believes the margin of victory could have been far greater given the number of clear opportunities Brighton carved out. "It should have been more, the chances Brighton created — they were that good," he said. "They absolutely battered Arsenal."

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta described himself as "extremely disappointed" following the result, which brings an abrupt end to the Gunners' perfect start to the season.