Brighton are currently five points adrift of leaders Arsenal, who they beat 3-0 at the Amex Stadium in September, at the top of the Premier League table

Brighton midfield maestro Pascal Gross insists the high-flying Seagulls are not in the Premier League title race with Arsenal.

Albion are in red-hot form and are currently five points adrift of Mikel Arteta's champions, whom they demolished 3-0 at the Amex back in September.

But despite beating Manchester City away and winning seven of their opening 10 matches - while also keeping seven clean sheets - Gross doesn't feel Fabian Hurzeler's men are in the mix with the Gunners.

"No, we’re not, but we’ve had a really good start to the season," said the 35-year-old, currently enjoying his second spell at Brighton, when asked if his team could go toe-to-toe with Arsenal between now and May.

"It’s the beginning of the season. You see the Premier League, the margins and you look at the results.

"We’re not getting carried away or anything like that, every game we have to suffer and sometimes it’s momentum. But we’re really pleased to go into the international break like that."

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Brighton have also now kept 11 clean sheets this season across all competitions and Hurzeler wants supporters to get excited, explaining: "They should always be excited if they watch our game, and that's our job to make them excited. And I always say they can dream, they can have high expectations of us, but these are things we can't control.”

Incredibly, Albion are comfortably the division's highest scorers with 26 goals. By comparison, Arsenal have only scored 15 and have conceded two goals less (five) than Brighton's seven.

Hurzeler's troops are also juggling UEFA Conference League commitments but their squad is so deep now they are able to rotate heavily. They followed up their 1-0 European win at Getafe on Thursday with a 2-0 victory over 10-man Brentford on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Arsenal have won nine of their 10 top-flight matches to date, losing just once. That points tally (27) equals their best-ever start to a Premier League season (alongside 2022/23). Arsenal have also now won each of their last 10 home games in all competitions. They have only enjoyed a longer run under Arteta once before, in November 2022 (12).

Challengers Manchester City, who could yet face serious sanctions after breaching the Premier League's financial rules, are now enduring a rough spell of form after losing three consecutive games in the Premier League.

Arsenal host City in Premier League action on November 29 at the Emirates Stadium when Enzo Maresca's men will be seeking to gain some ground back on the leaders.