Arsenal suffered a shock defeat at the hands of Crystal Palace on Monday and those dropped points have pulled them out of the top four.
The Gunners still have a game in hand and next up, they take on Brighton in the Premier League and this one is going to be another stern test for Mikel Arteta’s men. Brighton are in really poor form right now as they have not won in their previous five outings but the Seagulls play a very entertaining brand of football which could easily be a stumbling block for Arsenal.
The Gunners have a few injury concerns going into this match but they have the talent to see this one through and pick up all three points. Arsenal cannot afford to drop any more unnecessary points because Spurs have already leap-frogged over them and anything other than a win this weekend will help the Lilywhites even more.
Mikel Arteta cannot afford to make any radical changes to his starting line up because he has a very small squad but with some important players out injured, the manager could be forced to play some players out of position.
Arsenal team news vs Brighton:
Kieran Tierney will miss the remainder of the season due to the injury he had picked up last week. He will need surgery on his left knee and this is perhaps the biggest blow for Arsenal.
Nuno Tavares had a torrid time at right-back vs Palace so there is a chance Granit Xhaka could play in that position. The Swiss international has previously played in that role but the main issue with this is that Thomas Partey is also injured.
Thomas picked up a knock on Monday and there’s a big chance he will miss out as well.
An update from Arsenal has said: “Thomas is currently being assessed ahead of the weekend after aggravating his thigh during Monday night’s match at Crystal Palace.”
Arsenal with and without Partey this season. [sky] pic.twitter.com/Ysd494gOZJ
— AfcVIP⁴⁹ (@VipArsenal) April 6, 2022
If he is missing then Mikel Arteta will not risk using Xhaka at right-back, in that case, Xhaka and Lokonga will pair up in central midfield with Odegaard occupying his usual No 10 role.
With Tierney and Thomas Partey set to miss out, Arsenal are going to have serious issues in their defensive third so the onus will be on the likes of Lacazette and Bukayo Saka to see this one through.
Purely based on current form, Brighton should not be much of a threat but they did bounce back with a draw last weekend so they will have a bit of wind under their sails.
As for the attacking third, the manager cannot make any major changes because he has very limited options on the bench.
Arsenal predicted line up vs Brighton:
Predicted Starting Line up(4-2-3-1): Ramsdale; Tavares, Gabriel, Ben White, Cedric; Lokonga, Granit Xhaka; Odegaard, Gabriel Martinelli, Bukayo Saka; Lacazette.
