Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi sends blunt warning to Arsenal after ‘very tough’ Everton defeat

Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi has sent a warning to Arsenal after the Seagulls were thrashed at home on Monday.

The Seagulls have been excellent this season, and they remain on course to land a Conference League spot, but this slipped up with a heavy defeat to strugglers Everton on Monday evening. The Toffees won 5-1 at the Amex Stadium, making easy work of Brighton, handing them their heaviest defeat of the season so far.

Arsenal welcome Brighton this Sunday, and while the dent in Brighton’s confidence can be seen as a good thing, there is also the danger the Seagulls put on a statement performance in their bid to bounce back.

Arsenal need to win again this weekend as they look to keep up the pressure on Manchester City, likely needing to win all of their games between now and the end of the season. But Brighton are on a mission to return to their usual style, according to head coach De Zerbi.

“I think on Sunday [vs Arsenal] we will show our quality and be back to playing our style,” he said after the Everton defeat. “You will see the true Brighton.”

Speaking about Brighton’s bid for European football, De Zerbi added: “It will be a very tough, tough game because they are a strong team. But we want to achieve our target and I think it’s clear for everybody we are fighting against big teams – Tottenham, Aston Villa, Liverpool – for Europe.

“And at the moment, I think we are deserving to reach the best position. We have to think not of the results, we have to be focused only on our style and quality of play. We have to be focused only on to enjoy and to show our quality because we are not used to playing for this target.”