Arteta makes 1 big change | Predicted Arsenal XI vs Brighton & Hove Albion as £6m star returns

Arsenal take on Brighton & Hove Albion on the road in tonight’s Premier League clash.

The Gunners are presently five points ahead of second-placed Manchester City in the league standings following back-to-back wins over Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea.

Arsenal have already beaten Brighton twice this season, including in the Carabao Cup, and will be eyeing another victory to sustain or extend their slender lead at the top.

Ahead of the game, we expect just one change to the starting XI from the 2-1 win over Chelsea.

Formation: 4-3-3

Predicted Line-up:

David Raya was superb between the sticks against Chelsea with four key saves. He made a sublime world-class stop in the 92nd minute to deny Alejandro Garnacho on Sunday. The Spaniard will be eyeing his 14th clean sheet of the league campaign.

The defence is unlikely to change. Ben White has been ruled out for the third game running with a knock. Hence, Jurrien Timber may not be rested at right-back. The Dutchman has been in fine form lately, and he scored the winning goal against Chelsea.

William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes are nailed-on starters in the heart of the defence. Piero Hincapie will most likely continue ahead of Riccardo Calafiori and Myles Lewis-Skelly at left-back. He has been the most efficient when it comes to winning duels from the role and could be preferred to keep Diego Gomez and Yankuba Minteh at bay.

There has been plenty of talk about Martin Zubimendi needing a rest, but that may not happen. Arteta is most likely to give him a breather in the FA Cup fifth-round tie at Mansfield Town. Hence, we expect the Spaniard to line up alongside Declan Rice in central midfield.

Rice has been deemed fit to start despite hobbling off against the Blues. Eberechi Eze looks poised to continue as the attacking midfielder. Kai Havertz could be restricted to a cameo role, having just returned from a hamstring injury, while Martin Odegaard is doubtful.

In the final third, we expect a solitary change. Leandro Trossard has had a couple of lacklustre showings from the left wing. He won just 40 percent of his duels and lost possession 10 times against Chelsea. The Belgian also committed an error that led to a shot on goal for the Blues.

He is likely to be dropped for Gabriel Martinelli, who is a specialist on the left wing compared to Noni Madueke. The £6 million signing has 14 goal contributions this campaign, but has not scored in the league since September. He has the chance to end that barren run.

The rest of the attack should stay unchanged. Bukayo Saka delivered a quality cross in the lead-up to Arsenal’s opening goal against Chelsea. The Englishman has yet to find peak form this season, but he should be an undisputed starter on the right wing ahead of Madueke.

Similarly, Viktor Gyokeres should continue to lead the line over Gabriel Jesus due to his strong physical and aerial presence upfront. The Swede has 10 goal contributions since the turn of the year and should relish the prospect of scoring against his former employers tonight.

How Arsenal could line up vs Brighton tonight

Stats from Transfermarkt.com & Sofascore.com

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