Arsenal will play a game outside of London for the first time in 10 games when they travel to the South Coast to play Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League on Saturday night.
Following a thrilling comeback by Brentford in a 2-2 draw with Aston Villa a few days before, Mikel Arteta’s team started the New Year with a resounding 3-1 win over them.
One bad thing about Arsenal’s win last week was that Jurrien Timber got a yellow card that got him suspended. Without Timber, Arsenal doesn’t have a recognized right back while Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu heal from knee injuries.
Unless Arteta surprises everyone by starting 18-year-old Joshua Nichols, Thomas Partey should play as a makeshift fullback again. This will make room for Rice or Kai Havertz, who missed the Brentford win because they were sick, to come back into the middle.
Raheem Sterling (knee) and Bukayo Saka (hamstring) were both out, so Arteta gave Ethan Nwaneri his first Premier League start at Brentford. However, the 17-year-old might not be able to keep his spot because of how quickly the game came around.
Arsenal has lost a full-back, but Brighton manager Hurzeler is still hopeful that Pervis Estupinan will be able to play against Arsenal after missing the game against Villa because of illness.
Adam Webster might be able to play again after missing 13 games with a hamstring injury. Jack Hinshelwood is also almost ready to return from a knee injury. However, Danny Welbeck (ankle), Mats Wieffer (leg), Evan Ferguson (ankle), James Milner (hamstring), and Ferdi Kadioglu (toe) will not be able to play.
The January transfer window is now open, and Diego Gomez’s £11 million move from Inter Miami is official. However, the midfielder will not be considered for his first game this weekend.
Brighton & Hove Albion could start with Verbruggen in goal; Lamptey, Dunk, Van Hecke, Estupinan, Baleba, O’Riley, Adingra, Rutter, Mitoma, and Pedro.
Raya could start for Arsenal with Partey, Saliba, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly, Odegaard, Rice, Merino, Martinelli, Jesus, and Trossard.
