Arsenal away the chance for Brighton to escape their Amex blues
Home has not exactly been where the heart is for the Albion in recent weeks. Following three consecutive Amex games without scoring a goal, Brighton take some much needed respite from their Sussex blues with a trip to Arsenal.
Logic would normally dictate that visiting a side chasing a top four spot when you have not won for seven matches is a fixture to be approached with trepidation.
But Graham Potter and this Seagulls squad do not do logic. The tougher the opponents, the better Brighton tend to play. That is the hope we are clinging onto anyway ahead of the Gunners, Spurs and Manchester City in three successive away matches.
Whatever happens at the Emirates, it is hard to believe that things can get much worse than drawing 0-0 with Norwich City or being beaten 3-0 by Burnley, as we have been treated to at the Amex since mid-February.
And who knows, the Albion might even do something radical like score a goal at Arsenal. As long as the 3,000 strong away following do not drink too many pints of Camden and forget that we should not be shouting SHOOT at the Brighton players.
Arsenal this season
The Gunners spent a fair whack in the summer transfer window, including £50 million on a certain centre back with the best fake tan in the Premier League.
Despite the spending spree, not many pundits gave Arsenal much of a chance of making the top four. Benjamin White and the other arrivals are close to delivering what would almost be a shock top four finish.
Arsenal sit fifth in the table, level on points with Spurs but with a game in hand. A return to the Champions League would be represent an excellent campaign for Mikel Arteta and his players – especially if it comes with the trophy for finishing above Tottenham, which Gunners fans seem to actually value more than real silverware.
Team news
Oh Adam Webster, Adam Webster, wherefore art thou Adam Webster? That is the question on the mind of every Brighton fan as injury to the Albion’s best centre back this season has coincided with the complete and total loss of form.
Potter said that Webster might be involved at the Emirates, although not from the start. Quite why you would introduce a defender as a game changing substitute remains a mystery, but then again this is the bloke who played Pascal Gross at left back and used Bernardo in central midfield.
Jakub Moder obviously misses out after the terrible news about his ACL injury. There does not seem to be a definitive answer over what is going on with Adam Lallana but Moises Caicedo is available after illness.
Arsenal will be without Thomas Partey, which hopefully means they will not be having a party come the final whistle. Takehiro Tomiyasu and Kieran Tierney are both on the long-term injury list.
Arteta seems likely to shake things up from the starting XI who were hammered 3-0 by Crystal Palace on Monday night, having declared the performance “unacceptable”. Perhaps the Arsenal boss would be better off learning and taking the positives?
Key battles
Dare we suggest that the hopes of a Brighton goal at Arsenal rest largely on the shoulders of Neal Maupay? The Frenchman was public enemy number one amongst some Albion fans for his penalty miss in last week’s 0-0 draw against Norwich, with some fans demanding he be placed in stocks next to the Clock Tower.
Potter has publicly backed the French striker, although we have been here before when the manager has used words to express support for a player but then dropped them a matter of days later.
This would be a mistake in the case of Maupay against Arsenal. He loves scoring against the Gunners and gets under the skin of the Emirates crowd like few opposition players manage. White and co will find their task far harder if Maupay is involved.
Recent form
Prior to their defeat at Selhurst Park, Arsenal had been in decent recent form. They had won nine and drawn one of their previous 12 Premier League matches, leaving their only defeats to Manchester City and Liverpool.
There are two ways to look at what happened against Palace. Either Arsenal have used up all their wins in that magnificent sequence, in which case it is good news for the Albion.
Or there will be a severe backlash. That would obviously be bad news for Brighton, and in particular all those Albion fans who were crowing about “Mind the Gap” and “We are MILES ahead of Palace” earlier in the season.
- 04/04/22: Crystal Palace 3-0 Arsenal
- 19/03/22: Aston Villa 0-1 Arsenal
- 16/03/22: Arsenal 0-2 Liverpool
- 13/03/22: Arsenal 2-0 Leicester
- 06/03/22: Watford 2-3 Arsenal
- 24/02/22: Arsenal 2-1 Wolves
The Albion’s form? It is shit, we know.
- 02/04/22: Brighton 0-0 Norwich
- 16/03/22: Brighton 0-2 Spurs
- 12/03/22: Brighton 0-2 Liverpool
- 05/03/22: Newcastle 2-1 Brighton
- 26/02/22: Brighton 0-2 Aston Villa
- 19/02/22: Brighton 0-3 Burnley
Last time Brighton played Arsenal
Brighton had one of those evenings last time against Arsenal, dominating the game but failing to find a way past White or Aaron Ramsdale in the Gunners goal as it finished 0-0.
More memorable than the football was the weather. The rain was on a par with what mother nature used to chuck at us during the Withdean Years, to the point where not even the fact that the Amex has a roof could keep people dry.
Brighton v Arsenal head-to-head
Unsurprisingly, Brighton do not have a great record against Arsenal. Six wins, six draws and 24 defeats from 36 matches reflects the fact that the Gunners have spent most of their history being good and the Albion, well, haven’t.
What is notable about the fixture in the Premier League era is that a number of managers have tended to depart quite soon after it.
Losing 2-1 at the Amex in March 2018 was one of the final nails in Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal coffin before he stood down.
Chris Hughton took charge of his last away game as Brighton boss at the Emirates Stadium in May 2019, a 1-1 draw with Glenn Murray scoring a penalty.
That result meant the Gunners failed to qualify for the Champions League, one of the major reasons why Unai Emery found himself out of a job several months later.
Freddie Ljungberg then took caretaker charge, but his hopes of landing the job full time were crushed when Potter oversaw a 2-1 Albion win at the Emirates in December 2019.
A reason why Arsenal will win
Because right now, Brighton are not very good. A defence that used to be more watertight than Prince Andrew’s sweat glands is now leaking all over the place, something which you would expect a side as good as Arsenal to take advantage of.
A reason why Brighton will win
As we said right at the beginning, going to the Amex currently feels like a chore. Away games on the other hand are still partly enjoyable as the Albion do uncharacteristic things on the road like scoring goals.
Arsenal v Brighton betting
Even with that long sequence of six consecutive defeats thrown into the mix, betting on Brighton to draw is still returning a healthy profit over the course of 2021-22.
Those who read our Norwich City match preview and followed the betting advice would have seen us tip the 0-0 at 11/1. Brighton’s predictable ineptitude in front of goal ensured my fiancée got a Pizza Hut delivery for dinner on Saturday night, so cheers for that you super Seagulls.
And do you know what? Despite the general doom and gloom surrounding the Albion at the minute, a draw is worth backing again. 37/13 is the best price available, which can then be reinvested in Delta Work to win the Grand National.
Predictions
Prediction of score: Arsenal 1-1 Brighton
Prediction of number of Albion fans shouting shoot at some point: 2,975
