With eight matches left to go in the Premier League, Arsenal head south to the shores of Brighton for a midweek match following a nervy win over Chelsea on Sunday.
The Gunners spent the last two matches besting two hated London rivals to keep their narrow gap at the top of the league intact. Over the course of a week, the best and worst aspects of Arsenal have been on display. A dazzling showing in front of goal at Spurs was followed up another set piece-heavy affair at home against Chelsea in a performance
that sent Arsenal fans reeling and rival fans searching for more pulls to clutch. Defensive solidity gave way to another match where they looked nervous against 10 men and narrowly averted dropped points thanks to the heroics of David Raya.
Sunday’s match was rife with the sort of nerves that Arsenal fans have become accustomed to far too regularly in past run-ins. The assured defensive dominance from the sublime October run has evaporated, replaced with harried boot ball and an abundance of squeaky bum time down the stretch. It wouldn’t be so worrying if we hadn’t seen them spend the better part of the first half of the season with an airtight mentality and steely resolve.
Wednesday sees the Gunners play a third midweek away PL match in the past month. Their recent midweek league matches have not instilled confidence in their ability to get over their mental hurdle. Draws at Brentford and Wolves amplified cracks in the facade and have given Manchester City a lifeline. If Arsenal want to finally be champions, they need to find some way out of the malaise and return to form. On the back of a crucial but shaky win, can they bounce back and rediscover their mentality ahead of a series of decisive cup ties?
Here are three talking points ahead of Wednesday’s match:
Know the Enemy
Brighton enter Wednesday’s match in 11th place with 37 points and a record of 9W/10D/9L.
The hosts come into Wednesday’s tie with confidence following two consecutive victories that have seen them climb out of the bottom half of the table. After a poor run of 6 matches without a league win beforehand, they have come out of their slump just in time to host the Gunners. Of course.
That run wasn’t the first dry spell for the Seagulls. A 6 match winless run through the month of December, including a loss at the Emirates, saw their campaign hobbled early on. Despite early wins against Manchester City and Chelsea, they failed to turn those big wins into sustained success, with only two runs of 4 matches unbeaten in the league this season.
Brighton’s role as the Prem’s favorite feeder club hasn’t slowed down, as they are still stocked with young talent with links to bigger clubs. Midfielder Carlos Baleba, goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen, and midfielder Matt O’Riley have all been linked with moves away, which will surely net them another big payday. On the other end of the spectrum are veterans like former Gunner Danny Welbeck and James Milner, who recently broke the PL record for appearances with 655 and counting.
Statistically, Brighton are one of the few clubs who are right where they are expected to be according to Opta. They are decent at both ends of the pitch, though it’s their attacking prowess that has typically been their strength. Welbeck’s 10 goals this season leads the side, and while the next closest is Deigo Gomez with 5, they have 16 players who have scored at least once this season.
There is one specific statistic that they share a lead in league that should concern Arsenal, and that is goals from substitutes. So far this season, they have scored 9 goals from players coming off the bench, much like the Gunners. Considering Arsenal’s recent penchant for giving up late goals, this is no doubt an angle that manager Fabian Hürzeler will look to exploit at home against the league leaders, who will be looking to take points off the Gunners after facing them and losing twice in the PL and Carabao Cup this season.
Injuries & Suspensions
Sunday was a tiring affair, punctuated with some leggy play by the Gunners. Declan Rice asked to come off and looked to be favoring his hamstring. Hopefully, his sub was precautionary. If not, then Arteta has some reshuffling to do.
Ben White and Martin Ødegaard were unavailable on Sunday, so that’s certainly cause for some minor concern. The alarm bells aren’t ringing yet, but both have seen the pitch sparingly and inconsistently between knocks and injuries. If either are available for Wednesday, that would be a massive boost, but I’m not holding my breath.
OUT: Mikel Merino (foot)
DOUBT: Ben White (knock), Martin Ødegaard (knee), Declan Rice (hamstring)
Predicted Lineup
Attack: Martinelli, Gyökeres, Saka
The attack followed up a fantastic performance against Spurs with an anonymous one against the Blues. A few early looks were wasted with (stop me if you’ve heard this one before) one too many touches. The long ball wasn’t clicking, save for one that found Viktor Gyökeres and ended with a tame shot by Jurrien Timber. Leandro Trossard has struggled to make an impact on the score sheet, and Sunday extended his goalless drought to 10 matches in the PL. At this point, Gabriel Martinelli has to get a shot. Maybe Trossard has a few more Super Sub performances in him. Bukayo Saka looked decent but just couldn’t connect with any of his teammates on his cutbacks. He put in the cross that led to the opener, but he didn’t have much support on the right in open play, which has become all too common with Martin Ødegaard out.
Midfield: Rice, Nørgaard, Eze
The week’s rest hardly looked helpful for the midfield, who were stretched thin by the end of the Chelsea match. They were out of sorts and made an alarming amount of misplaced passes and poor decisions. Ideally, you’d look to rest and rotate a little more, but with Mikel Merino out and Martin Ødegaard’s status unknown, you work with what you’ve got. Does Arteta make the decision to give Christian Nørgaard a start for one of Declan Rice or Martin Zubimendi? The manager’s hand may be forced if either of the usual starters don’t have anything left in the tank. Kai Havertz is back but I don’t imagine he starts until the weekend in the FA Cup.
Defense: Hincapie, Gabriel, Saliba, Timber
When open play goals aren’t there for the taking, sometimes you just gotta go with what works. Each of Arsenal’s back four had a goal contribution, with William Saliba being assisted by Gabriel and Jurrien Timber scoring the winning goal. Even Piero Hincapie joined in – just on the wrong side of it. Own goal aside, he was solid and continues his growth at left back. As they have many times this season, the defense carried the squad to victory. If Ben White were healthy, I’d say this would be an ideal chance for him to start, but he was once again left out of the side against Chelsea. Riccardo Calafiori is also an option on the left after being an unused sub in the past two matches.
Keeper: Raya
David Raya single-handedly kept Chelsea out of the goal on several massive chances. He was caught in a bad spot for the corner that led to the own goal, but did everything else right. His ability to make snap saves from close range is simply superb.
The tension of a close Premier League title race isn’t for the faint of heart. This Arsenal side have been there time and time again after several close calls with greatness. Their desire is unquestionable, but their legs and mind at the moment seem to be pushed to their limits. Pressure only magnifies the errors and fatigue, and each match only compounds it. A manageable weekend FA Cup tie waits just around the corner, and perhaps one last shot at rest and rotation before the end of the month. Leave it all on the pitch, fight for all three points, but most importantly – don’t panic.
WHO: Arsenal at Brighton & Hove Albion
WHAT: Premier League match day 30
WHEN: Wednesday, March 4th, 2:30pm EST/11:30am PST/7:30pm GMT
WHERE: The Amex Stadium, Brighton
HOW TO WATCH: Streaming on the Peacock app
For all your international streaming needs, check LiveSoccerTV.com. Please do not share or discuss links to illegal streams here.
