Kostoulas named the Premier League's best young player

Brighton & Hove Albion recorded their biggest win of the season last month, beating defending Premier League champions Arsenal 3-0. The 11 players who took the field had an average age of 25, and Brighton lined up with one of the youngest starting elevens in the league.

Pascal Gross scored the first goal of the match. By the end of the first half, Brighton were ahead by two goals. Kostoulas provided the assist for one of them and also got on the scoresheet himself. Chema Andres scored the third goal.

Manager Fabian Hurzeler built a balanced side by combining young and experienced players. After seven rounds, the team sits third in the English top flight with five wins. Gross and captain Lewis Dunk stand out as key figures for the club.

The Greek player joined from Olympiacos last summer, but spent most of his first season as a substitute. Stuck behind Danny Welbeck, Kostoulas started only twice in the league but came on as a substitute in 19 matches. In that period he scored two goals and provided one assist. His notable goals included a spectacular acrobatic strike in the 90th minute of a 1-1 draw with Bournemouth in January.

With Welbeck's move to Chelsea, Kostoulas cleared a major obstacle on his path to becoming Brighton's first-choice striker. In addition, an injury to Georginio Rutter, who played the full 90 minutes in the opening-day 4-0 win over Aston Villa, opened a place in the starting eleven for Kostoulas. The young player took his chance and has since strengthened his place in the squad.