Arsenal vs Brighton tips and predictions: Gunners out for revenge
- George Dempsey
- 15 December 2023
Arsenal will face Brighton at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday (1400 GMT) as they look to keep pace with Liverpool at the top of the Premier League
Arsenal and Brighton will meet on Sunday, both coming off difficult European matches. However, the Gunners have had an extra two days to rest and prepare.
Defeats to Newcastle and Aston Villa slotted in among winning runs have kept Mikel Arteta’s side on their toes recently and they’ll be keen to get back to winning ways.
Brighton have struggled to keep out opposition away from the AMEX, conceding in 22 of their last 24 matches since August 2022.
That leaky form hasn’t stopped them from beating Wolves, Man Utd and Nottingham Forest though, and Roberto De Zerbi’s side are averaging more goals per game than last season.
Clean sheets and a hard-earned three points when most needed were a staple of Arsenal’s success last season.
We’ve seen the Gunners pull a few of those out of the bag this season, but six of the eight visitors to the Emirates have scored, as have 15 of 20 in the calendar year.
Unbeaten in 12 home matches across all competitions, the hosts’ last defeat came against Brighton in a rather painful fashion.
Hours after Man City won 3-0 at Everton to turn up the pressure, Arsenal were run ragged by Brighton in a 3-0 defeat that dashed their title hopes.
These are two attack-minded teams so both teams to score is an obvious starting point, and we think a fresher Arsenal side hungry for revenge will claim all three points.
Arsenal have scored a first-half goal in each of their last five at home and nine of 11 overall. Given Brighton could be tired, we could also see some Gunners goals late in the game.
Team news
Jurrien Timber, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Thomas Partey, Mohamed Elneny and Fabio Viera are expected to be unavailable in December.
Gabriel Martinelli has been suffering from a viral illness but could recover by Sunday.
Pervis Estupinan, Tariq Lamptey, Solly March, Julio Enciso, Danny Welbeck and Ansu Fati are ruled out.
Adam Webster is questionable but nearing a return. His fitness will be monitored in the build-up to the match.
Key stats
- Arsenal have conceded in 15 of 20 home Premier League matches at the Emirates
- Arsenal are unbeaten in 12 at the Emirates, winning their last six
- Brighton have conceded in 22 of 24 away Premier League matches
- There have been more than 2.5 goals scored in each of the last four meetings
