Arsenal have not won in their last eight matches in all competitions and the crisis inherited by interim manager Freddie Ljungberg hasn’t eased.
Ljungberg led Arsenal to a come from behind draw away to Norwich City on Sunday. The Gunners did not play well overall and struggled to keep the Canaries out of goal.
Thursday night will see the Gunners host a pesky Brighton team at the Emirates. Arsenal have not beaten Brighton in their last three meetings posting a record of 0W-2D-1L.
Brighton are coming off of an away loss to Liverpool, 2-1. It was a game in which Brighton struggled to get a foothold until the final quarter of an hour when Liverpool’s Alisson Becker was sent off. The Seagulls got a goal and nearly stole a point from the league leaders.
Graham Potter’s team has lost three straight matches in the Premier League and sit 16th in the table. Brighton are just three points above the relegation zone and could be sucked into trouble with a loss and Southampton win against relegation rival Norwich City.
Three players are struggling for fitness at the Emirates. Dani Ceballos is already ruled out of the game and won’t be available until the end of the month. Full-back Hector Bellerin and centre-back Rob Holding are both expected to take late fitness tests.
Brighton’s Jose Izquierdo is still ruled out of action and won’t return until the second half of the season. Solomon March is unlikely to feature on Thursday night due to a tight groin muscle. The good news is that Bernardo could return to action for Potter and feature in the starting XI.
Arsenal have scored 13 goals while conceding 10 times at the Emirates. Defence has been lacking for large patches of the season. That defensive frailty showed against Norwich City last Sunday and Brighton could take advantage of it.
Last season, Arsenal could only take two points from six in league games against Brighton. Both fixtures ended in 1-1 draws.
Their previous meeting at the Emirates saw Brighton come from behind to get a draw as Glenn Murray’s penalty goal cancelled out Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s first-half penalty strike.
Arsenal are unbeaten at home against Brighton in two matches and that trend should continue on Thursday night at the Emirates. Ljungberg should be able to get Arsenal back on track with a win against Brighton. Meanwhile, the Seagulls could fall into the bottom three and struggle for survival.
Five of the six matches in all competitions between Arsenal and Brighton have finished with both teams scoring. Expect both to find the back of the net once more as Arsenal edge the Seagulls.
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