Arsenal head to the south coast of England in high spirits after a fantastic derby day win over Tottenham last Sunday. That was their fourth consecutive win and now they will be up against Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday.
There was a lot to be happy about for Mikel Arteta, as last weekend felt like an important moment in the trajectory of the season. How will the Spaniard respond with his team selection for the game against Graham Potter’s men?
Brighton and Hove Albion vs Arsenal FYIs:
Kick-off time: 5:30 PM GMT, 2 October Saturday
Arsenal Team News: Go here
Weekly Premier League Podcast: go here
Form Guide (All Competitions): Brighton (LWWWD) Arsenal (LWWWW)
Aaron Ramsdale was outstanding against Spurs and will once again keep his place in goal. There are not going to be any changes in defence given how well they complement each other. Takehiro Tomiyasu and Kieran Tierney will start as full-backs.
And as for the centre-backs, it is going to be Ben White (in his first match against his former club) and Gabriel.
Moving to the centre of midfield, Arteta will be forced to make one change due to the injury suffered by Granit Xhaka. Thomas Partey will start the game and along with him, it will most likely be a return for Mohamed Elneny.
Though Albert Sambi Lokonga has a chance to start, the manager might prefer the experience of the Egyptian.
One of the best aspects of the win over Tottenham was the way in which the attacking trio combined and Arteta would not want to tinker with that. Bukayo Saka will start on the right-wing with Emile Smith Rowe being stationed on the left.
And we will see Martin Odegaard as the attacking midfielder. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang helped Arsenal set the tone for the win in last week’s north London derby.
He has started to look more like his old self and should start as the team’s centre forward.
With a lot of movement around him, the captain will get chances to score. Beating Brighton is not going to be easy, but the Gunners have the talent and momentum to get the three points.
Predicted Arsenal Starting XI vs Brighton & Hove Albion (4-2-3-1):
Aaron Ramsdale, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Ben White, Gabriel, Kieran Tierney, Thomas Partey, Mohamed Elneny, Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, Emile Smith Rowe, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang