MY ACCOUNT
– Brighton have scored eight first half goals in their last four PL matches
– Arsenal started slowly at West Ham and were 1-0 down at HT
– Recommended bet: Brighton to score in the first half
Guaranteed to finish the year on top of the table, Arsenal intend to see it out in style when they head to the Amex Stadium to face seventh-placed Brighton on Saturday evening.
The final Premier League match of 2022 will be a stern test of the Gunners’ title credentials as the Seagulls have picked up three wins in the last four under Roberto De Zerbi.
Albion condemned Southampton to a fourth-straight league defeat on Boxing Day when Solly March came to the fore with a goal and an assist at St Mary’s.
Mikel Arteta’s men came from behind to claim a 3-1 London derby win over West Ham later that evening with Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Eddie Nketiah on the scoresheet.
The Arsenal boss will hope his side keep spreading the goals around in the continued absence of injured forward Gabriel Jesus.
Team news
Seagulls star Moises Caicedo is suspended for this match after picking up his fifth booking of the campaign at St Mary’s.
And with Argentina’s World Cup winner Alexis Mac Allister not due back until the New Year, Billy Gilmour looks set to earn a first Premier League start of the campaign alongside Pascal Gross in central midfield.
De Zerbi was not optimistic about Adam Webster’s chances of being available for Saturday, so Levi Colwill should continue his central defensive partnership with Lewis Dunk.
But former Arsenal hitman Danny Welbeck could recover from a muscular problem to push his claims for a start, although Leandro Trossard will be hard to shift from the striker’s role he has been revelling in.
For Arsenal, Arteta is still without star man Jesus and winger Reiss Nelson due to knee and thigh injuries respectively.
Oleksandr Zinchenko came off the bench for the final 20 minutes against the Hammers and, given he has more often than not started ahead of left-back rival Kieran Tierney in the Premier League, looks likely to be restored to the starting line-up at Brighton.
Emile Smith Rowe remains a doubt with the pelvic problem that has dogged his campaign and Takehiro Tomiyasu could miss out again with a hamstring strain.
The Gunners boss is wrestling with a dilemma over William Saliba, who was booked against West Ham and would miss the upcoming clash with third-placed Newcastle if he was to receive another caution against Brighton.
The stats
Arsenal have the second-best festive record over the history of the Premier League, averaging 2.00 points per match in fixtures played between December 26 and January 4.
No Premier League team has conceded more penalty kicks than Brighton (5) this season while the Seagulls have also scored the joint-highest number of own goals (3) in the division.
Prediction
Arsenal have kept their title challenge on course through the first few months of the campaign in impressive style and a victory at Brighton to maintain, or perhaps extend, their five-point advantage over the rest would be a major psychological boost.
But history suggests it will not be easy as the Gunners have won only one of their last five Premier League contests at Amex Stadium.
De Zerbi’s side have a tendency to raise their game against the big clubs, having already collected the scalps of Manchester United and Chelsea as well as holding Liverpool to a 3-3 draw at Anfield.
Arsenal will also need to be wary of the fast-starting Seagulls, who have scored the opening goal inside the first 15 minutes of each of their last four Premier League contests, while they have netted eight goals in the first half during that sequence of games and they can be backed at 13/10 with LiveScore Bet to bag in the opening 45 on Saturday.
A slow start like the one they produced at West Ham when Arteta’s men registered just one shot on target in the first half and went into the dressing rooms a goal down, could prove costly.
