Arsenal picked up right where they left off before the extended international break when Mikel Arteta’s high-flying Gunners secured a 3-1 win over West Ham United at the Emirates in scintillating fashion during a second-half comeback performance befitting a club that has aspirations in 2022-23 to be crowned Premier League champions. Hale End Academy product Eddie Nketiah was among the goalscorers on Boxing Day along with Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli, currently arresting concerns surrounding the absence of key summer signing Gabriel Jesus.
For Mikel Arteta, the young Arsenal manager is proving that the process was worth being patient for from a fan perspective, as the Gunners are now going into each fixture backed by confidence and a muted swagger that only the top sides typically muster. A tricky Brighton does await them, however, with Roberto De Zerbi’s outfit looking improved over the credible framework laid by Graham Potter, and it could be a tricky test that Arsenal is fully capable of rising to and passing with flying colors.
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- Gabriel Jesus and Reiss Nelson (out)
- Emile Smith Rowe and Takehiro Tomiyasu (doubt)
The unfortunate absence of star striker Gabriel Jesus is set to continue as the Brazilian international is slated to be out until at least mid-February, with Hale End Academy product Reiss Nelson also remaining sidelined through injury.
Both Emile Smith Rowe and Takehiro Tomiyasu may pass fit to be included in Arteta’s matchday squad when they travel to Brighton, bolstering the squad’s depth at a key juncture of the campaign, with the knockout stages of the Europa League just around the corner as well.
Expect little-to-no change in the XI after Arsenals’s performance against West Ham United, but Oleksander Zinchenko could return to the lineup at the expense of Kieran Tierney.
