Arsenal are in action in the Premier League this afternoon, when Brighton visits. Quite a tough match on paper with nothing special added to the occasion, but I think what happened against them last season has stuck in Mikel Arteta’s mind.
We all remember the absurd red card handed to Declan Rice, and in his pre-match press conference the Arsenal boss said he was ‘pissed off’ at the way we went down to ten men and ended up drawing the match. For a man who is normally quite guarded and chooses his words very carefully, this was a bit unusual and it says something about how he might be feeling today. Last season he was even able to experience the visit to Brighton, when William Saliba was awarded a penalty that no one had ever seen before or since. Besides the importance of the points for the title race, there is something more at play today and we know how Arteta likes to use things like this as motivation for his team.
I think the line-up will see most of the players who started on the bench on Tuesday return to the starting lineup. Although there isn’t much to choose from at the back, there are rumors that Gabriel will be in the squad, which would obviously be a big boost. I wonder if the aim is to get a few minutes under his belt today, with a view to starting him against Villa next week. A fully rotated midfield with Rice, Martin Zubimendi and Martin Odegaard I think, with Leandro Trossard and Bukayo Saka in the wide positions. Then it is a choice at the front between Viktor Gyokeres and Gabriel Jesus.
Does he go for the man who scored in his last game but struggled to get involved in the overall game, or the man who helped piece together the cup tie but couldn’t find the back of the net (thanks in part to some good saves from the goalkeeper)? I think it will be Gyokeres, but if it was Jesus I wouldn’t be surprised either. And this is a scenario we will have to get used to – and for the players too if they stay fit, and if Kai Havertz is also added to the mix. Different selections depending on form etc., but also who the manager thinks is the best option for that particular opposition.
As for Brighton, we know what they are talking about, with dangerous wingers, high pressure and a frustratingly good record with us. They haven’t been in great form lately, but it’s always a tough game and we’ll have to raise the level significantly from our last home game in the league if we want to get all three points. This is an important week in the title race. City have two very winnable games on the schedule and we need to make sure we make the most of our two home games from today. There’s enough quality in that team and off the bench to cause anyone problems, so fingers crossed we can do that against Brighton (and get a bit of revenge for last season too).
Okay, I’ll leave it at that. We did a little preview podcast yesterday where we chatted a bit about this game, the EFL Cup win over Palace, Ethan Nwaneri and more, and it’s ‘free to air’ on Patreon now. As always, we will live blog coverage of the game, and all the usual stuff Arseblog news afterwards too.
Come on you reds!
#points #extra #grabs #Brighton