Brighton mark 125th anniversary with emphatic win over Arsenal
Brighton celebrated their 125th birthday with a 3-0 win over defending champions Arsenal in front of a record home crowd. The club, which nearly ceased to exist three decades ago, now regularly competes in European competition.
Fabian Hurzeler's Brighton marked the club's 125th anniversary in style, beating defending Premier League champions Arsenal 3-0 at the Amex Stadium. A record crowd of 31,944 watched goals from Pascal Gross, Charalampos Kostoulas and Chema Andres seal the win. Hurzeler said afterwards he was proud of his team's performance against what he called perhaps the best side in England.
A club that nearly vanished
Brighton's history has not always been so bright. In 1995, then-chairman Bill Archer sold the Goldstone Ground, the club's home since 1902, as debts mounted, without consulting fans or securing an alternative venue. The club left the ground in 1997 after supporters had already stormed the pitch in protest during the previous season. Two seasons playing 70 miles away at Gillingham followed, then a spell at the 6,000-capacity Withdean Stadium. In 1997 the club came within 27 minutes of relegation out of the Football League entirely.
The turnaround came through several key figures, including former chairman Dick Knight and deputy prime minister John Prescott, who overturned a rejected planning application for a new stadium in Falmer. The most significant contribution came from Tony Bloom, a lifelong Brighton fan born in the city, who became chairman in 2009 and funded the club's rise from League One to a permanent Premier League fixture.
From Withdean to Europe
Today Brighton play at the modern American Express Stadium, averaging crowds above 31,000, and are now in their second European campaign, this time in the Conference League. Last month the club recalled the high point of its first European run, a 2023 win over Ajax in Amsterdam. In the programme for the Arsenal match, Bloom thanked supporters, saying their determination through the club's difficult years was the reason Brighton still exists today.
