Arsenal will be eager to maintain the pressure up top as they travel to take on Brighton & Hove Albion, who will aim for an upset.
Back in December, after Brighton & Hove Albion lost to Arsenal at the Emirates, Roberto De Zerbi lamented the lack of control, insisting his team liked to stay relevant in the game. The Italian tactician will certainly not want a repeat of that performance in North London as the Seagulls welcome the Gunners at the Amex on Saturday in a crucial game for both sets of managers.
Brighton & Hove Albion are going through a tough period where they are unable to conjure up positive results. In midweek, they could only muster a draw against Brentford despite setting a new club record of registering the most shots in an away Premier League game. Ultimately, hey could not find the back of the net.
In any case, Brighton welcome Arsenal at the Amex for another tough encounter as De Zerbi hopes of making it back into European places continue to slip through their hands steadily. In recent months, they have been knocked out of the Europa League and FA Cup, although they are only two points away from seventh-placed West Ham United, as there is still hope for the Seagulls in their quest for European football.
Meanwhile, Arsenal, put in a professional performance in midweek to breeze past relegation-threatened Luton Town at the Emirates. Martin Odegaard opened the scoring, and then Emile Smith Rowe forced an own goal through Hatters defender Daiki Hashioka to double the advantage. With a heavily rotated squad, the Gunners were able to see off Rob Edwards’ men with ease.
Despite a prominent Champions League fixture coming up next week, Mikel Arteta may not look to field a weak side, as Arsenal do not have the privilege of having some favourable fixtures compared to their rivals. Brighton, away from home, is always a difficult place to go, although last season, Arsenal put the Seagulls to the sword at the Amex.
Arteta will want to keep up the pressure on Liverpool at the top as the Merseysiders take on Manchester United at Old Trafford in a crunch encounter. Should Arsenal win on Saturday, they will push Jurgen Klopp’s men into second spot heading to Manchester United, which will be seen as a pressure situation for the Reds.
Team News & Tactics
Brighton & Hove Albion
Roberto De Zerbi must make do without a few of his key stars ahead of this crucial game against Arsenal. Evan Ferguson and Ansu Fati remained sidelined during midweek, and the manager has since confirmed that the Irish striker will miss the Saturday game. He has also confirmed Adam Webster’s absence for the weekend.
Kaoru Mitoma, Jack Hinshelwood, Billy Gilmour, Solly March, and James Milner are all sidelined. Carlos Baleba and Pascal Gross should slot in central midfield for the Seagulls. Joel Veltman and Pervis Estupinan will feature in the full-back roles, with Lewis Dunk and Jan Paul van Hecke the ideal choices for centre-backs.
Joao Pedro would likely slot in that role behind the striker, with Julio Enciso and Simon Adringa marshalling on either wing. Former Arsenal striker Danny Welbeck should be a natural choice to lead the line for Brighton, and he would hope to derail his old club’s title ambitions.
Probable lineup (4-2-3-1) Verbruggen; Veltman, Van Hecke, Dunk, Estupinan; Baleba, Gross; Enciso, Pedro, Adringra; Welbeck
Arsenal
The Gunners are sweating on Bukayo Saka’s fitness, and Arteta may not risk him ahead of the Champions League clash with Bayern Munich. However, with the Premier League race heating up, the Arsenal boss might take his chances with the winger should he turn up fit for the Brighton trip.
Beyond him, only Jurrien Timber is out of contention, as Mikel Arteta otherwise has a full complement of players available for selection. Some of his fringe stars impressed in midweek, including Thomas Partey and Emile Smith Rowe, although the pair are unlikely to feature from the start on Saturday.
At the back, Arteta could bring Jakub Kiwior in place of Oleksandr Zinchenko, while he could think about starting Takehiro Tomiyasu besides the regular centre-back pairing. However, Ben White’s form makes it difficult to drop him right now, as the English defender will continue in his role on the right.
Jorginho and Declan Rice should return to the Arsenal midfield alongside Martin Odegaard against Brighton, while Arteta could also bring Gabriel Martinelli on the left wing. Kai Havertz should be fine starting in the leading role up front, with Saka on the right.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3) :Raya; Ben White, Saliba, Gabriel, Kiwior; Odegaard, Jorginho, Rice; Saka, Havertz, Martinelli
Key Stats
- Brighton & Hove Albion have now won just one of their last five Premier League matches.
- Brighton & Hove Albion are unbeaten at the Amex Stadium in 14 games in all competitions.
- Arsenal have won nine of their last ten matches in the Premier League.
- Arsenal have scored at least two goals in nine of their last ten matches in the Premier League.
- Arsenal have kept a clean sheet in five of their last seven matches in the Premier League.
Player to Watch
Gabriel Martinelli
The Brazilian has missed some games, but luckily for Arsenal they have come through this period with ease. Despite Martinelli’s return from his injury at the end of the month, Mikel Arteta has managed his game well until now. Having a fit and firing Martinelli will be a significant weapon for the Gunners as he offers something different to this side.
Arsenal are much better with him, and ahead of the crucial Champions League clash in midweek, Arteta may want to unleash the Brazilian a bit early. He also has a reasonable record against the Seagulls and will want to put in a terrific performance that would bring the points home for Arsenal.
Prediction
Brighton & Hove Albion 0-3 Arsenal
The Seagulls are not in the best of form ahead of their game against the title challengers and may suffer the consequences. Roberto De Zerbi is not able to find the balance and can easily blame his squad’s injury-ravaged state for the dip in form.
Arsenal, meanwhile, have shown no signs of slowing down and backed up their defensive performance against Manchester City with a professional display against Luton Town. Mikel Arteta will not tolerate any dip in form or dropped points ahead of the most crucial period in the club’s history for decades. Consequently, Arsenal are the favourites to take three points in style against Brighton and keep another clean sheet in the Premier League.
Arsenal win