Arsenal up against the pesky Seagulls..

Morning all.

Annoying as they are, there’s nothing quite like the sound of seagulls in the morning. Better than any alarm clock that’s for sure. I’ve still not forgiven the one who nicked my ice cream out of my hand a number of years ago though!

Anyway, we go again. Another trip to the south coast for Mikel Arteta, Sussex to be precise and I’m pretty sure it’s going to be another tough 95 minutes for Arsenal because Brighton are a good side. Their manager Fabian Hurzeler has been moaning ahead of tonight’s game, calling for stricter rules around set-pieces, criticising Arsenal for time-wasting in the process. Seems everyone has it in for Arsenal these days.

Who cares, all our players need to do is focus on themselves, play hard, fast and disciplined and get three more points. However, I do agree that fans deserve to see more football and less waiting for a game to restart. But that applies to all clubs and not just Arsenal. I’ve not read anyone moaning about Sunderland who take just a couple of seconds less than Arsenal on their corners. On average that is.

The last time Brighton lost a home game was the 8th February when Crystal Palace beat them 1-0. Mind you, they’ve only played one home game since then which ended with a 2-1 defeat of Nottingham Forest. In between, they’ve lost two and won one on the road, the win coming at Brentford.

Squad news from Mikel Arteta:

Kai Havertz: “So he’s done a part of the session, we will have to wait and see whether he’s available and in which condition. The rest I don’t think there will be anybody else.”

Martin Odegaard: “We will see.”

Ben White: “Ben is not available.”

Max Dowman: “Max is available.”

Declan Rice: “I hope so. He was much better today. Obviously, we haven’t really trained because we have only two days to prepare the game. So, hopefully, it’s going to be better tomorrow.”

I don’t think Rice is worth risking regardless of if he’s feeling better. I know he’s a key player in the team but we need him for the next three months, not just tonight. Christian Norgaard is more than capable of marshalling our midfield and protecting our defence as and when needed.

Striker Tzimas is ruled out through injury so it’s likely Welbeck will be Brighton’s frontman tonight and it was he who scored Brighton’s winner in their last game. I’m pretty sure we’ll see a few long balls lumped to him, just as I suspect we’ll see a very solid defensive setup from the home team too. Dunk is the one to watch on corners and other set-pieces.

Arsenal’s Adrian Clarke:

Hurzeler’s side are energetic, aggressive, and likely to press us hard. Brighton have produced the highest number of pressed sequences in this season’s Premier League, and rank second for the highest number of turnovers.

Brighton had moved away from their possession-based style, but in their last eight successive matches in all competitions, our next opponents have had the majority share of possession. Another recent tactical change is the use of Jack Hinshelwood as a No.10, and the 20-year-old breaks into the box to get on the end of crosses, while out of possession he is also incredibly diligent.

The most in-form Seagulls are Welbeck and Diego Gomez, who have both scored in the last two matches. The latter is especially effective when driving inside from the right, and he has a thunderbolt strike in his armoury. Netting 10 goals in all competitions, the Paraguayan needs to be closed down.

One area where Brighton are particularly strong is defending corners and wide free-kicks. They have only conceded five times from set pieces in 2025/26, which is the joint-best record in the division. Finding clear space inside the box is not easy against Hurzeler’s well-drilled team.

As with all our league games now, we’ve faced the opposition once before, although with Brighton, we’ve played them twice. The league game at The Emirates ended 2-1 thanks to a cracker from Odegaard and an own goal. 15 shots in the first half alone from Arsenal but when Brighton pulled one back just after the hour, it made for a nervy finish and but for David Raya, we’d have dropped two points. Our League Cup fixture finished 2-0 but it wasn’t as easy as the scoreline might suggest as Brighton had a number of opportunities to score.

Talking of opportunities, Arsenal need to improve in taking their own but then you and I have been saying that for yonks. If we score more, the pressure on the defence reduces. Keeping possession does the same but to do that, players need to get back to doing what they are good at – being cool, calm and focused instead of panicking and making errors. Opponents sense it, it gives them hope and then before we know it, we’re under the cosh.

Catch up in the comments.