Key events
9 min: Lamptey scampers into space down the right before cutting back for Enciso, who is free on the edge of the Arsenal D. Enciso leans back under pressure from the late arrival of White, and balloons his shot miles over the bar. That’s another great chance. In a parallel universe somewhere, it’s already 1-1.
8 min: Welbeck tries to dribble his way down the right only to be clipped by Saliba. Brighton want the free kick, but the referee plays advantage, and then Saliba stops Adingra, much to the irritation of the home support. Some advantage, but hey, the referees try their best.
6 min: Jorginho stays down a while but is fine to continue. “Havertz, then,” begins Charles Antaki. “Kept in at the expense of Martinelli sacrificed for Jesus. Is that it now, all early worries and wobbles forgiven, vapid drifting about turned into purposeful movement, goals now expected rather than a delightful surprise? The hard-to-please Arsenal fan will treat it much like Chou En Lai did the success of the French revolution – too early to tell.”
4 min: … Gabriel clears with a strong header, and then the whistle goes for a foul on Jorginho. Another 86 minutes of this end-to-end stuff would be most satisfactory.
3 min: Brighton contribute to the thrust and parry with an attack of their own, Enciso winning a corner with a purposeful run down the left. And when that’s taken …
1 min 3 sec: Odegaard makes to swing in the free kick, but dummies. Everyone resets in the middle, and Brighton are caught out. Odegaard delivers this time, and Gabriel should power home a header from six yards, but clanks it wide left. What a huge chance for the fastest of starts!
11 sec: Havertz is clumsily clipped by Van Hecke, and Arsenal have a chance to send a free kick in from the left.
Arsenal get the ball rolling … after the taking of the knee. There’s no room for racism.
The teams are out! A fine couple-of-afternoon-pints-in atmosphere greets the players as they emerge from the tunnel. Brighton sport their blue and white stripes while Arsenal are dressed like the cover of Eno’s Music for Airports. We’ll be off after a quick blast of 1/1 Sussex by the Sea.
Roberto De Zerbi talks to Sky Sports … “One problem has been scoring goals but we have been creating a lot of chances … [Danny] Welbeck is a top player for us … Joao Pedro as well, but he can’t start today because he played 90 minutes after two months off from injury … Arsenal are a top team in the Premier League … they have incredible players and an incredible style of play … they score a lot of goals and do not concede many … it is a tough game for us … we have an ambition to stay at this level in the table.”
… and so does Mikel Arteta. “[Bukayo] Saka has been training good … games are coming thick and fast … we have options … we have a big task today to beat Brighton … we have to be better than them in order to do that.”
Manchester City’s lunchtime 4-2 win at Crystal Palace has nudged Arsenal down to third place for now. Never mind, the Gunners can leapfrog City all the way to the top with victory this evening …
… while Brighton need the three points if they’re to keep up with West Ham and Newcastle in the race for a European spot. The Hammers won 2-1 at Wolves this afternoon, while Newcastle edged Fulham 1-0 at Craven Cottage.
Changes aplenty for both teams, with Brighton making five in the wake of their dull 0-0 draw at Brentford. Danny Welbeck, Tariq Lamptey, Pervis Estupinan, Julio Enciso and Jakub Moder take the places of Joao Pedro, Adam Lallana, Joel Veltman, Igor and Facundo Buonanotte, who all drop to the bench.
Arsenal meanwhile swap out four players after their easy 2-0 win over Luton. Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice, Jorginho and Gabriel Jesus return; Thomas Partey, Emile Smith Rowe and Leandro Trossard drop to the bench, while Reiss Nelson misses out altogether this time.
The teams
Brighton & Hove Albion: Verbruggen, Lamptey, van Hecke, Dunk, Estupinan, Baleba, Moder, Enciso, Gross, Adingra, Welbeck.
Subs: Igor, Joao Pedro, Lallana, Barco, Steele, Fati, Veltman, Buonanotte, Peupion.
Arsenal: Raya, White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko, Odegaard, Jorginho, Rice, Saka, Havertz, Gabriel Jesus.
Subs: Ramsdale, Partey, Smith Rowe, Martinelli, Nketiah, Kiwior, Tomiyasu, Trossard, Vieira.
Referee: John Brooks (Leicestershire).
🟡 𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗠𝙉𝙀𝙒𝙎 🔵
⚖️ Jorginho in the middle
⚡️ Jesus on the wing
🔙 Saka returnsLet’s keep raising the bar, Gunners 👊 pic.twitter.com/AtVVkl5M8A
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) April 6, 2024
Preamble
Arsenal’s relationship with Brighton & Hove Albion is stranger than you might think for clubs of their relative size. The Gunners (est 1886) have won 31 major trophies in their time; Brighton (est 1901) are still stuck on nil. But over the years, their head-to-head in the league is surprisingly close: Arsenal are on ten wins, Brighton not too far behind on seven.
There’s no point looking to recent head-to-head form for pointers either. Arsenal may have beaten Brighton 2-0 at the Emirates in December, but the Seagulls won on their previous three visits to N5. Conversely, Arsenal stuffed Brighton at the Amex 4-2 last season, and are on a three-game unbeaten run down Falmer way. So with Mikel Arteta’s men after the title, and Roberto De Zerbi’s folk chasing another European dream, the manner of tonight’s events are anyone’s guess. Kick-off is at 5.30pm. It’s on!
