Gabriel Jesus back from injury with Mikel Merino decision made”, Arsenal predicted line-up vs. Brighton: two big changes made with £55m man set to miss out
Top spot in the Premier League table is up for grabs at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday lunchtime,
as Arsenal and Brighton & Hove Albion put their 100% records on the line.
The Gunners banished their Aston Villa hoodoo in a 2-0 win in the West Midlands last weekend,
while the Seagulls dramatically saw off Manchester United by two goals to one.
Ever since being given the Emirates boot in 2019,
Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has made a habit of getting his own back,
from eliminating the Gunners from the 2020-21 Europa League semi-finals with Villarreal to last season’s pair of Premier League successes.
However, the Spaniard’s penchant for avenging his sacking ceased to exist last weekend,
where Leandro Trossard’s clinical finish and a customary 20-yard goal from Thomas Partey –
albeit with a helping hand, or two, from Emiliano Martinez –
propelled the Gunners to a morale-boosting victory.
While Trossard and Partey’s strikes were pivotal moments, the game-defining event arguably came inside the Arsenal box,
where David Raya produced what will surely be remembered as one of the best
saves ever seen in the Premier League from Ollie Watkins’s close-range header.
Thanks to crucial contributions at both ends of the pitch,
Arsenal are one of just four sides to boast six points from six on offer in the 2024-25 Premier League season,
joining upcoming foes Brighton, Liverpool and Manchester City in that exclusive crowd.
Each of the Gunners’ last eight Premier League games has now ended in victory,
and should Arteta oversee another success on Saturday,
Arsenal will end a 20-year wait for nine straight Premier League wins since the Invincibles achieved the feat in 2003-04.
Arteta’s feats as a young manager have been rightly lauded, but his opposite number this weekend –
Fabian Hurzeler, who was just 18 years old when the Spaniard joined Arsenal’s playing ranks in 2011 –
is making serious waves on the South Coast.
Fresh from a three-goal trouncing of a defensively-depleted Everton side, Brighton overcame wet
and windy South Coast conditions to send Erik ten Hag’s Man United packing at the Amex,
where ex-Red Devil Danny Welbeck and Joao Pedro rendered Amad Diallo’s strike meaningless.
The Seagulls still had to survive a scare when an offside Joshua Zirkzee helped Alejandro Garnacho’s effort over the line,
but Saturday’s visitors were full value for their second competitive win under Hurzeler,
who also oversaw a 4-0 EFL Cup thumping of Crawley Town in midweek.
As Brighton proudly show off their 100% record under Hurzeler,
the 31-year-old now aims to lift a capital curse that bedevilled the Seagulls last year,
as they failed to win any of their seven top-flight games away to London clubs in the 2023-24 top-flight season.
However, their most recent success in the capital was a 3-0 Emirates embarrassment of Arsenal in May 2023,
although Arteta’s men avenged that beatdown with a pair of victories last term,
including a like-for-like three-goal triumph on Amex soil.
Following pre-game reports that Gabriel Jesus had sustained a groin injury in training,
the Brazilian was indeed missing from the matchday squad at Villa Park
and is expected to sit out Saturday’s game too, but he is not believed to have suffered a serious problem.
Nevertheless, Jesus joins Takehiro Tomiyasu (knee) and Kieran Tierney (hamstring)
on Arsenal’s absentee list for the visit of the Seagulls, where a debut could await Mikel Merino,
whose capture from Real Sociedad was finally confirmed this week following weeks of negotiations.
The Spaniard is likely to take his seat on the bench for now, though,
as goalscorer Partey has likely done enough to reprise his role in between Declan Rice
and Martin Odegaard, but Trossard has every right to expect a start against his old club over the off-colour Gabriel Martinelli.
While Arsenal might parade their new midfield signing this weekend,
Brighton’s shiny new toy Matt O’Riley was forced off just nine minutes into his debut against
Crawley with an ankle injury, which he sustained owing to a late challenge by Jay Williams.
Hurzeler was immediately pessimistic about O’Riley’s diagnosis after the game, so the ex-Celtic man will surely join Solly March (knee) on the Emirates sidelines, while Brajan Gruda and Mats Wieffer’s knocks will need assessing.
Evan Ferguson was back on the bench in midweek following an ankle concern, but the 19-year-old is unlikely to displace former Arsenal man Welbeck, who aims to score in three straight Premier League games for the first time in 10 years.
A debut at left-back could also await Turkish Euro 2024 star Ferdi Kadioglu, formerly linked with a move to the Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal possible starting lineup:
Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Timber; Odegaard, Partey, Rice; Saka, Havertz, Trossard
Brighton & Hove Albion possible starting lineup:
Steele; Veltman, Dunk, Van Hecke, Kadioglu; Milner, Gilmour; Minteh, Pedro, Mitoma; Welbeck