Arsenal v Brighton preview
Arsenal know dropping points at home to Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday could hand top spot in the Premier League to Manchester City.
The Cityzens visit Nottingham Forest in the early game on Matchday 18 and are two points behind the Gunners with a superior goal difference.
“We are alive in all competitions,” Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta said. “The team are showing great signs of consistency, quality and togetherness.
“What we have to do is continue to generate the chances that we do and concede nothing. Do that and trust the players.”
Winless in four games, Brighton will hope Arsenal’s energy levels have been depleted by their EFL Cup quarter-final home victory over Crystal Palace on Tuesday, winning on penalties following a 1-1 draw after 90 minutes.
Albion lost 2-0 away to a largely second-string Arsenal team in the quarter-finals of the competition on October 29.
“They’re good in transitions, at set-pieces and in and out of possession,” Seagulls manager Fabian Hurzeler said of his side’s opponents.
“They are the best team in the league at the moment, so you have to be good in every minute. You have to stay alive, you have to be alert to what’s going on.
“On the other side, we know that we can hurt teams and that’s what we will try to do. We can’t go there with the mindset of thinking only about defending.
“We have to play with courage. We know we can beat every team in the league, although it will be big challenge. But we go there to win.”
Arsenal v Brighton team news
Full-back Piero Hincapie and forward Gabriel Martinelli are doubts for Arsenal. Defender Cristhian Mosquera and winger Max Dowman have ankle injuries, while striker Kai Havertz still has a knee issue.
Centre-back Gabriel (groin) and full-back Ben White (hamstring) are also out.
Forward Danny Welbeck and centre-back Jan Paul van Hecke could return for Brighton after missing the 0-0 draw at home to Sunderland last Saturday.
Defender and captain Lewis Dunk, who has just triggered a contract extension, joins midfielder Diego Gomez in returning from suspension, but full-back or midfielder Mats Wieffer is a doubt.
Midfielder Carlos Baleba is at the Africa Cup of Nations 2025 with Cameroon. Centre-half Adam Webster, winger Solly March and striker Stefanos Tzimas are all out with long-term knee injuries.
Arsenal v Brighton expected line-ups
Arsenal starting XI: David Raya, Jurrien Timber, William Saliba, Piero Hincapie, Riccardo Calafiori, Eberechi Eze, Martin Zubimendi, Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka, Mikel Merino, Viktor Gyokeres
Brighton starting XI: Bart Verbruggen, Mats Wieffer, Jan Paul van Hecke, Lewis Dunk, Ferdi Kadioglu, Yankuba Minteh, Brajan Gruda, Jack Hinshelwood, Diego Gomez, Georginio Rutter, Danny Welbeck
How to watch Arsenal v Brighton: TV channel, live online stream
Kick-off on Saturday is at 15:00 GMT (10:00 ET / 07:00 PT). This match is not being shown live in the UK.
Arsenal v Brighton stats
- Arsenal have won three of their eight Premier League home games against Albion (D2 L3)
- They only having a lower win rate against Wimbledon (25%) and Liverpool (36%) among sides they’ve faced at least five times
- All three of Arsenal’s Premier League home wins against Brighton have been by a 2-0 scoreline (October 2017, May 2021, December 2023)
- Mikel Arteta has only once seen a longer winning home run than their current sequence of five victories, recording 10 in a row between April and December 2022
- Goalkeeper David Raya is poised for a 150th Premier League appearance for Arsenal – since his debut in August 2021, the goalkeeper has kept more clean sheets than any other goalkeeper in the competition (58)
- Among players to play at least 500 minutes in the Premier League this season, only Manchester City duo Jeremy Doku (3.4) and Rayan Cherki (3.2) have created more open play chances per 90 minutes than Arsenal’s Martin Odegaard (2.5), with the Norway international creating four in their 1-0 win at Everton last Saturday
- Brighton are winless in their last four Premier League games against Arsenal (D2 L2), although they came from behind to draw 1-1 in both meetings last season
- Albion have failed to score in their last two Premier League matches, joining Everton as the two sides to fail to score on Matchday 16 and 17
- Hurzeler’s winless record in all 10 of his Premier League matches in December (D6 L4) is the most games ever managed by a top-flight coach in December without winning
- Against Sunderland, Brighton named the youngest starting side in a Premier League match this season (23 years, 240 days) under the youngest manager in the competition (32 years, 297 days on 20 December), while also fielding the oldest player to appear in the competition in 2025/26 (substitute James Milner, aged 39 years and 350 days)