Arsenal will be bidding to continue their rich vein of form in the Premier League when they travel to the Amex Stadium to face Brighton & Hove Albion.
The north Londoners go into the final Premier League game of 2022 with a five-point lead at the top of the table. They swept West Ham away 3-1 at the Emirates Stadium on Boxing Day in their first game after the Premier League’s resumption.
However, a tricky contest awaits Mikel Arteta’s side this weekend as they make the trip to Brighton, who won 3-1 at Southampton on Boxing Day.
Arsenal Team News
There are no fresh injury concerns for Mikel Arteta, but the Arsenal boss will still be without Emile Smith Rowe on Saturday. Takehiro Tomiyasu has been declared fit, while Gabriel Jesus has been ruled out for the foreseeable future after undergoing knee surgery.
Predicted Arsenal Lineup vs Brighton (4-2-3-1)
Goalkeeper
Aaron Ramsdale is a certainty to start in between the sticks for the Gunners. The England international missed out on a clean sheet in Arsenal’s win over West Ham in the last game but he will be raring to keep one at Brighton.
Defence
Ahead of Ramsdale, Ben White, William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes should retain their places in defence in the Arsenal lineup. Oleksandr Zinchenko could start at the Amex after he came off the bench against West Ham on Boxing Day. He is expected to replace Kieran Tierney at left-back.
Rob Holding, Cedric Soares and Tierney should provide cover to the defensive positions from the bench.
Midfield
There is no looking past the midfield trio of Thomas Partey, Granit Xhaka and Martin Odegaard in the Arsenal lineup. Partey’s presence in front of the backline provides the license for Xhaka to join more in attacks and make late runs in the box.
Odegaard, the Gunners’ skipper, makes the team tick with his passing, creativity, vision and movement. The Norwegian playmaker possesses the ability to create something out of nothing, which makes him indispensable to Mikel Arteta.
Albert Sambi Lokonga and Mohamed Elneny could get involved in the second half if Arteta wants more bite and energy in the middle of the park.
Attack
Deputising in the Arsenal lineup in Gabriel Jesus’ injury absence, Eddie Nketiah managed to at least silence some of his detractors by scoring a brilliant goal against West Ham. With Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka also getting on the scoresheet, Arsenal’s front three will head to Brighton with a lot of confidence and vigour.
If the Gunners are in need of fresh legs in attack against Roberto de Zerbi’s side, Arteta could bring on Fabio Vieira and Marquinhos from the bench.
