Bruno Guimaraes has apologised to Arsenal supporters after admitting that the team were simply not good enough during their 3-0 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion at the Amex Stadium.
According to Football London on Sunday, September 20, 2026, Guimaraes made his first Premier League start for Arsenal since completing his £75 million move from Newcastle United.
It was, however, a frustrating afternoon for the Brazil international as Arsenal saw their perfect start to the Premier League season come to an abrupt end.
The Gunners looked well below their usual level throughout the game, while Brighton took full advantage of their mistakes. The result was a major setback for Mikel Arteta’s side, who had entered the match with plenty of confidence following their impressive start to the campaign.
Guimaraes did not try to hide from Arsenal’s poor performance after the final whistle. Instead, the midfielder admitted that the players had fallen well short of the standard expected of them.
“We were not good enough, so far off our level this time. We are very disappointed, we have to learn from our mistakes because today we were far away from our level,” Guimaraes said.
The midfielder also pointed to Arsenal’s problems in possession and their failure to win important individual battles across the pitch.
Brighton made Arsenal pay for those mistakes. Pascal Gross opened the scoring with an effort that went in off the post before Charalampos Kostoulas doubled the home side’s advantage.
Arsenal struggled to find a response and Brighton eventually added a third goal to complete a convincing victory.
Guimaraes admitted that Arsenal gave Brighton too much freedom and made mistakes in dangerous areas, something the team could not afford to do against a side playing with confidence.
“We cannot give them too much space, we cannot lose the ball in a dangerous area and like I said, bad day, I’ve not been too long here but it feels like we can’t accept [this],” he added.
The defeat brought Arsenal’s winning run to an end and gave Arteta plenty to think about during the international break.
For Guimaraes personally, the midfielder insists he is settling well at the Emirates despite the disappointing result.
The Brazilian had already opened his Arsenal account in the club’s 2-0 win over Sunderland the previous weekend and believes he is gradually finding his feet within Arteta’s team.
“I think I’m quite good in terms of adaptation with the club, I’m getting there,” he said.
But the midfielder knows there is little room for another performance like the one Arsenal produced against Brighton.
Guimaraes also acknowledged the frustration of the supporters and accepted that the players owed them a much better performance.
“We have to say sorry to the fans because it wasn’t good enough,” he concluded.
Arsenal will now have the international break to regroup before returning to Premier League action against Leeds.
For Arteta and his players, the focus will be on making sure the Brighton defeat remains a bad day rather than the start of a difficult run.
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