This weekend’s Premier League action holds a lot of significance, as the players prepare to head to their respective national teams in the upcoming International break. The Premier League has a lot of mouthwatering fixtures on offer, with the encounter at Stamford Bridge between Chelsea and Manchester City being the standout fixture this weekend.
Arsenal host newcomers Brighton and Hove Albion at the Emirates for their 7th game of the season. The promoted side has been in the mix of things and aren’t doing bad themselves, having picked up 7 points in the first six games that sees them in 13th in the league table.
Arsenal too seem to be on a revival of sorts, as they have managed to put in consistent performances following their debacle early on in the season.
The home side will be fresh off their Europa League victory in Belarus, over BATE Borisov courtesy a 4-2 scoreline.
Arsenal will be full strength on the night, as they rested most of the big names for their Europa League outing. The attacking trio of Alexis Sanchez, Alexandre Lacazette and Mesut Ozil will likely be joined by Laurent Koscielny, Aaron Ramsey and Granit Xhaka into the starting lineup.
Let’s look at the Arsenal vs Brighton predicted lineup:
Goalkeeper:
Petr Cech
Petr Cech will resume in goal, having sat out the Europa League encounter.
Defense:
Monreal – Koscielny – Mustafi
The defensive trio of Monreal, Koscielny and Mustafi are expected to take to the field as Arsenal’s rearguard as a result of two clean sheets in the last two appearances. Monreal put in a man of the match performance against West Brom and will be marshalling the defence on the night. Koscielny and Mustafi had a few communication errors in the previous game but will have sorted that out heading into this fixture. It looks to be an easy night at the back for the Gunners.
Wingbacks:
Kolasinac – Bellerin
Sead Kolasinac and Hector Bellerin have cemented their position as the wing backs of this Arsenal team. Both of them are completely different in terms of what they offer to the team, but their combination down either of the wings is working a treat for Arsene.
Midfield:
Ramsey – Xhaka
The midfield duo of Granit Xhaka and Aaron Ramsey has worked for Arsenal on a few occasions. They were a compact unit in the game against Chelsea, and Ramsey was at his expressive best against the reigning champions and against West Brom. Granit Xhaka is still yet to answer his critics, but one can expect the Swiss international to boss the midfield against relatively weak opposition.
Attack:
Sanchez – Lacazette – Ozil
The deadly three-pronged attack of Arsenal might comprise of Sanchez down the left, Lacazette as the out and out striker and Ozil drifting into the central areas from the wide right.
This combination has only been tested once prior to this and there were signs of promising things to come. The same can be expected against the newcomers, who would be daunted by the prospect of facing that front-three and will be tested on Sunday.
