Arsenal will be a heavy guest on Brighton, on Saturday, in the English Premier League, in a confrontation that once again highlights the previously tense relationship between the coaches of the two teams, Mikel Arteta and Fabian Hurzler, following the dispute that broke out between them last season.
Horzler had strongly criticized Arsenal’s playing style following Brighton’s 1-0 loss last March, accusing the London team of “setting its own rules” and pointing out that “only one team tried to play football.” Despite this, Arteta stressed in his press conference on Friday that the page on the dispute had been closed once and for all, stressing his great respect for his German counterpart and the levels provided by Brighton. For his part, Horzler stressed his adherence to his right to express his artistic opinion, but he was keen to congratulate Arsenal on their deserved crowning of the league title.
Arsenal enters the match at the top of the Premier League standings after achieving four consecutive victories at the beginning of its title defense journey, in addition to its opening victory in the Champions League over Napoli, and its passage to the fourth round of the League Cup with its victory last Tuesday over Ipswich, in a match that witnessed the brilliance of rising talent Max Daumann (16 years old) and scoring two goals in his first appearance this season. Commenting on the role of the young player, Arteta stressed that proving oneself is on the field and not by demanding opportunities outside the green rectangle.
Taking into account winning the Charity Shield title at the expense of Manchester City, the Gunners achieved 7 consecutive victories in various competitions, and are seeking to achieve victory over Brighton to equal the best start in the club’s 123-year history. Arteta described this series as conclusive evidence of the difficulty of the competition and the team’s ability to translate training work into tangible results.
As for the future of the technical staff, Arteta has not yet signed his new contract despite the negotiations having continued for months. However, he downplayed the importance of the delay, stressing that there is a complete agreement between the two parties and that the matter will be completed at the appropriate time.
Historically, Brighton’s last victory over Arsenal dates back to May 14, 2023, when it won 3-0 at the Emirates Stadium, scored by Julio Enciso, Deniz Undav, and Pervis Estupinyan. Over the total of 35 previous confrontations between the two sides, Arsenal achieved 20 victories compared to 8 victories for Brighton.
Brighton’s squad enters the match amid a long list of absences and doubts, including: Femi Azeez, Evan Ferguson, Zadok Johanna, Mats Wever, Jack Henshelwood, Kaoru Mituma, Yankuba Mente, Stefanos Tzimis, in addition to Jawi Hadjam, who suffered an injury against Manchester United, with expectations that the team will return to the squad that beat Coventry. Brighton is expected to start with an expected lineup that includes: Verbruggen; Kadioglu, Dank, Vucković, Buskali; Gross, Ayari; Gomez, Yalkoy, De Cuyper; Costolas.
On the other hand, Arsenal regained the services of Jurian Temper, who was absent from the Ipswich match as a precaution, while doubts loom over the readiness of Piero Hincapie, Ben White, and Christian Mosquera, with William Saliba still absent due to a back injury. Arsenal’s expected lineup includes: Raya; Temper, Konsa, Gabriele, Calafiore; Guimarães, Rice; Saka, Odegaard, Zoulis; Havertz.
Opta statistics network expects Arsenal to win by 57 percent, compared to 29 percent in favor of Brighton.
