Arsenal have been knocked out of the EFL Cup in the third round after a 3-1 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion at the Emirates Stadium
The Gunners went ahead against the run of play through Eddie Nketiah in the first half, but Roberto De Zerbi's side responded through Danny Welbeck's penalty before Karou Mitoma and Tariq Lamptey sealed a deserved win for the away side.
Mikel Arteta did not hesitate to ring the changes for the third-round tie - 10 to be exact - with only William Saliba holding his place and Karl Hein earning his debut in goal.
Led by ex-Arsenal striker Welbeck, it was Brighton who dominated proceedings early doors, with the former Gunners man and Julio Enciso both spurning early opportunities.
After surviving that wave of Seagulls pressure, it was the home side who made the breakthrough in the 20th minute, as Reiss Nelson picked up the ball inside his own half and drove at the Brighton defence before picking out Nketiah.
The Englishman had peeled off onto the left-hand side of the box and lifted a sumptuous effort beyond the reach of Jason Steele into the far corner, keeping up his penchant for EFL Cup goals after hitting five in five games last term.
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Arsenal's joy would not last long, though, as just five minutes after Nketiah's opener, Hein brought down Welbeck in the box after slipping when attempting to cut out a through ball.
Welbeck duly stepped up to convert the spot kick - refusing to celebrate against his previous employers - as Brighton got to half time at 1-1, but it was all Arsenal in the early stages of the second half.
Nketiah hit the post with a long-range effort in the 49th minute before Steele produced a fine save to keep out Nelson's goal-bound header, and failure to convert those chances proved costly for Arsenal.
In the 58th minute, Brighton quickly broke forward and Jeremy Sarmiento picked out the run of Mitoma on the left, and the Japanese attacker cut inside on his right foot before finding the far corner.
The energy was sapped out of the hosts following Mitoma's strike, and it was three for Brighton not long after, as Lamptey burst down the left flank, fended off the attention of Nelson and slotted home from a tight angle in the 71st minute.
Despite piling on the pressure in the final exchanges, a rotated Arsenal side could not find a way back into the game as Brighton advanced to the fourth round.
Arsenal will aim to bounce back when they face Wolverhampton Wanderers in Saturday's final Premier League match before the World Cup, while Brighton play host to Aston Villa on Sunday.
Ben Knapton
