Arsenal are set to face Brighton & Hove Albion at the weekend, the Gunners have had two identical results to kick off the Premier League campaign with 2-0 wins against Wolves and Aston Villa. Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka scored in the Gunners’ first game whilst Leandro Trossard and Thomas Partey were on the scoresheet in the game against Aston Villa.
David Raya has been a wall between the posts, making some outrageous saves in both games to keep Wolves and Villa from scoring. However, Mikel Arteta’s side face another team this weekend that are coming off two impressive wins of their own. Brighton thrashed Everton 3-0 in their opening fixture before beating Man Utd 2-1 in Fergie time.
Fabian Hurzeler’s side has made an eye-catching first impression with the German coach continuing from where his predecessor left off. The Seagulls have made some impressive signings this summer including Mats Weiffer and Yankuba Minteh and now have two more on their way – Ferdi Kadioglu and Matt O’Riley.
Arsenal on the other hand have signed Mikel Merino from Real Sociedad. The 28-year-old Spaniard has already trained with the team and could be in line to get some minutes off the bench in the game against Brighton. All things considered, it promises to be an exciting match-up between two attack-minded teams.
DATE & TIME
Date: August 31, 2024
Time: 12:30 BST
Location: Emirates Stadium, London.
ARSENAL VS BRIGHTON – TEAM NEWS
Kieran Tierney and Takehiro Tomiyasu continue to be long-term absentees for the club. Gabriel Jesus suffered an injury in the game against Aston Villa but it’s not considered to be too serious. However, this Brighton clash might come too soon for the Brazilian striker who is likely to sit this one out.
Riccardo Calafiori was given his first minutes in the game against Aston Villa, replacing Jurrien Timber for the last 10-odd minutes. Ethan Nwaneri has been an unused substitute so far and could be in line for some minutes should Arsenal find themselves in a comfortable position in the game against Brighton.
Brighton is likely to be without Bart Verbruggen for their trip to the Emirates which automatically means that Jason Steele will start in goal. Solly March is surely set to miss this game too. Mats Wieffer missed out on the game against Man Utd after an impressive debut against Everton and could be back for this game.
Evan Ferguson is close to returning from an injury but it’s unlikely that he will feature against Arsenal. Similarly, Perves Estupinian is slightly away from getting the medical green light. Brighton have wrapped up two new signings – Ferdi Kadioglou and Matt O’ Riley who should be involved in some capacity this weekend.
ARSENAL VS BRIGHTON – PRE-GAME ANALYSIS
Mikel Arteta hardly changes his formation and is likely to persist with the 4-3-3 formation against the Seagulls. David Raya is set to start in goal after his heroics in goal and should have a backline of Ben White, William Saliba, Gabriel and Jurrien Timber in front of him.
Thomas Partey is likely to continue as the #6 with this game being too early for Mikel Merino to start. Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard will complete the midfield with Gabriel Martinelli, Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka completing the attack.
Brighton love to have the ball and so do Arsenal but Mikel Arteta might know that their threat on the counter could be crucial in this game. In cases of a turnover in possession, the Spanish tactician might instruct his team to hit long balls over the top to Gabriel Martinelli to set off a counter.
Martinelli vs Veltman is an absolute mismatch for pace and it’s a race that the Brazilian should win 11 out of 10 times. Bukayo Saka is also a willing runner and these two could be crucial to Mikel Arteta’s game plan against Brighton.
The Seagulls themselves set up in a 4-2-3-1 and like to build out of the back. Jason Steele is excellent with the ball at his feet and has a tendency to find fullbacks Joel Veltman and Jack Hinshelwood with chipped balls over the pressing attackers to start an attack.
The midfield duo likely to be made of the ageless James Milner and Billy Gilmour control the game for the Seagulls and it’s important that Arsenal don’t give space or time to the duo in midfield. Winning this battle in the centre of the park could go a long way in gaining the Gunners ascendancy in the game.
Joao Pedro’s role of playing just behind a traditional number nine like Danny Welbeck is something that the Arsenal defence need to be aware of. The Brazilian forward is an expert at making late runs into the box at the perfect moment like he did for the goal against Man Utd in the dying minutes last week.
Yankuba Minteh and Kaoru Mitoma love to take on their full-back and it helps that both Ben White and Timber are excellent one-on-one defenders. This is one more reason Arteta should start Timber over Zinchenko at left-back as Minteh vs the Ukrainian would be a mismatch of abilities.
Arsenal vs Brighton promises to be a battle of two managers who are tactically very astute. For the Gunners to come out on the victorious side, it’s important to disrupt the Seagulls’ patterns of building out from the back.
On paper, the Gunners have the stronger squad but Brighton play on the principle ‘sum of the parts is always greater than the whole’. They are a very tricky team to beat and Arsenal cannot take them lightly.
PREDICTED LINEUPS
Arsenal predicted lineup vs Brighton: Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Timber; Partey, Rice, Odegaard; Saka, Havertz, Trossard.
Brighton predicted lineup vs Arsenal: Steele; Veltman, J.P.V Hecke, Dunk, Hinshelwood; Gilmour, Milner; Minteh, Pedro, Mitoma; Welbeck.
ARSENAL VS BRIGHTON – PREDICTION
It will be a pleasant surprise if Arsenal keep a third successive clean sheet against Brighton. This game is likely to be attack-minded with both teams looking to score goals and we could be in for a fest if both teams take their chances.
Both teams are expected to create plenty of chances in the 90-odd minutes of the game and ultimately, the result could come down to clinical finishing which Arsenal certainly have an advantage in. Expect this game to be a very close game with lots of goals.
Prediction: Arsenal 3-2 Brighton
