The Premier League leaders welcome the EFL Cup’s form side to the Emirates on Wednesday night as Arsenal face Brighton & Hove Albion in the fourth round. Rotation is coming, but the Gunners’ momentum and defensive control remain the story heading into a knockout test.
Brighton arrive as history-makers after back-to-back 6-0 wins, while Arsenal have strung together seven straight victories and five successive clean sheets in all competitions. Squad depth, selection calls and set-piece detail should decide a tie that both managers will fancy.
Arsenal edged Port Vale 2-0 in round three through Eberechi Eze and Leandro Trossard, then beat Crystal Palace 1-0 at the weekend. The Seagulls, meanwhile, followed their 6-0 at Oxford with a stunning 6-0 at Barnsley as Diego Gomez hit four.
Arsenal vs Brighton EFL Cup fourth round: context and momentum
Arsenal’s form reads unbeaten in 10, seven wins on the spin and five clean sheets. Spooky season has been anything but at London Colney, with rivals slipping and a four-point league cushion intact. The League Cup has eluded the club since 1993, but this squad looks built to compete on all fronts.
Brighton’s EFL Cup streak is unprecedented: two straight six-goal victories. Yet the fourth round has long been a hurdle, with no quarter-final since 1978-79 and exits at this stage in four of the last five seasons. A 4-2 loss at Manchester United ended their five-match unbeaten run, but the Seagulls still carry threat in transition and on early crosses.
Arsenal predicted lineup vs Brighton: Hincapie full debut, Kepa in goal
Piero Hincapie is in line for a full debut after late minutes at Crystal Palace, partnering Cristhian Mosquera. Ben White and Myles Lewis-Skelly should start at full-back, with Kepa Arrizabalaga expected to deputise for David Raya.
In midfield, Christian Norgaard and Mikel Merino are poised to join Eberechi Eze. Up front, Ethan Nwaneri could be used on the right, with Viktor Gyokeres through the middle and Leandro Trossard from the left. The outlet’s possible XI reads: Kepa; White, Mosquera, Hincapie, Lewis-Skelly; Eze, Norgaard, Merino; Nwaneri, Gyokeres, Trossard.
Arsenal injury news before Brighton: Max Dowman decision Arsenal
William Saliba, Declan Rice, Riccardo Calafiori and Gabriel Martinelli picked up knocks against Crystal Palace and may be managed here. Long-term knee victims Kai Havertz, Martin Odegaard, Noni Madueke and Gabriel Jesus remain on a wider absentee list. Bukayo Saka, who battled illness before Palace, is expected to be protected, while 15-year-old Max Dowman may be held back from a first start against Premier League opposition.
For Brighton, Kaoru Mitoma (ankle), Joel Veltman (calf) and Brajan Gruda (knee) are edging closer and could make the squad. Jack Hinshelwood (foot), Solly March (knee) and Adam Webster (knee) are longer-term absentees. James Milner—fresh off his 90th Premier League assist—could return, as could Barnsley hero Diego Gomez.
Brighton 6-0 Barnsley EFL Cup form and threat
Hurzeler’s side have already etched their name into the competition’s history with consecutive 6-0 wins. Gomez’s four-goal haul at Oakwell echoed Julio Baptista’s 2007 feat for Arsenal at Liverpool. Even so, the Seagulls’ fourth-round record is a recurring stumbling block, and their last visit to the Emirates in this competition (a 2022-23 third-round upset) will sharpen Arsenal’s focus.
Prediction lands on fine margins. With Brighton likely to go strong and Arsenal set to rotate, the hosts’ structure and depth should carry them through. We say: Arsenal 2-1 Brighton & Hove Albion. Quarter-final football is there if Mikel Arteta’s side manage game state and punish lapses in both boxes.
