Match Preview: Albion kick off 2025 against title chasing Arsenal

January 4, 2025January 4, 2025 Andrew James 0 Comments

First off, Happy New Year everybody! I hope you all saw in 2025 with lots of celebration – and who knows, maybe the happiness will continue when Brighton welcome title chasing Arsenal to the Amex.

January sees us at the midway point of the 2024-25 Premier League season. The Albion currently occupy 10th spot in the table. Coming up is a potentially defining month in the campaign with games against opponents in the lower reaches, such as Ipswich Town, Everton and… Manchester United!

If Fabian Hurzeler can find a way to overcome struggling sides, there is the potential to pick up a decent haul of points. Famous last words, of course.

Brighton also have a date with Championship side Norwich City in the FA Cup, which provides a good opportunity to progress into the fourth round of the competition.

But for now, let us take a look ahead to the visit of last season’s Premier League runners up to Sussex.

Albion clinch a point in the midlands

Brighton returned from the West Midlands last time out with a positive result having drawn 2-2 with Aston Villa. Hurzeler’s side started brightly and put themselves ahead in the 12th minute via a wonderful finish by current AFCON champion Simon Adingra.

Villa began to grow into it after falling behind. They created a fair few chances and on the stroke of half time, did indeed get themselves back into the game.

A clumsy challenge by Joao Pedro saw the referee give a penalty to the the hosts after a long VAR check. Ollie Watkins dispatched the spot kick effortlessly which meant the teams headed into the break on level terms.

Villa wasted no time in the second half, pulling themselves ahead just two minutes after the restart thanks to a deadly finish by attacking midfielder Morgan Rogers.

Truth be told, the Albion had their backs against the wall for much of the remainder of the game as Unai Emery’s men dominated proceedings.

However, the Seagulls hung in there. They stood firm defensively and managed to make it 2-2 with eight minutes remaining. A wonderful team goal being superbly put away by unlikely scorer Tariq Lamptey.

With 10 minutes to go both sides were pushing for all three points. Neither sat back but in the end it finished 2-2, making it five draws in seven games for Brighton.

Given how bad the Albion’s record is at Villa Park, 95 percent of Brighton fans would have snatched your hand off if offered a point before kick off. Me included.

Arsenal thrash Brentford

Arsenal played just three days ago, travelling across London on New Year’s Day to take on Brentford. The Bees have a formidable home record and Mikel Arteta’s side found themselves behind after 13 minutes courtesy of Bryan Mbueno.

That proved to be a wake up call for the Gunners. Gabriel Jesus equalised on half hour before Arsenal came out swinging in the second half.

They looked a different animal, dominating the game before firing themselves ahead. Summer signing Mikel Merino bagged himself his second goal for the Gunners and just three minutes later, Gabriel Martinelli made it 3-1 to completely takes the game away from the Bees.

The win against Brentford makes it three Premier League victories in a row for Arsenal. They leapfrogged high flying Nottingham Forest into second place in the standings, six points behind long-term leaders Liverpool.

Brighton v Arsenal head-to-head

Brighton and Arsenal have met 31 times and unsurprisingly, it is the Gunners who dominate the head-to-head. Arsenal have 17 wins to their name with the Albion on eight and six matches have ended level.

Seven of those Seagulls victories have come since promotion to the Premier League in 2017, with just one from Brighton’s previous spell in the top flight.

Arsenal are unbeaten at the Amex since the 2019-20 season, when Neal Maupay caused so much trouble as Brighton won 2-1. It was the first game played in empty stadiums during lockdown as the Premier League returned after its enforced Covid absence.

Brighton v Arsenal team news

The all-important Brighton versus Arsenal team news mainly surrounds the small injury crisis which Hurzeler is having to contend with.

Ferdi Kadioglu has undergone surgery on a capsule ligament tear to his big toe which means he may not play again this season for the Albion.

Danny Welbeck will be watching from the sidelines once more with the forward still suffering from an ankle injury that has kept him out of action for the last fiur weeks.

Evan Ferguson is another that has been ruled out through injury. There has been much speculation about the Irishman in the past few days with rumours of a possible move this January. Time will tell on that one.

James Milner remains out as the veteran continues to struggle making a comeback from a hamstring injury picked up when Brighton drew 1-1 away at Arsenal back in August.

Jack Hinshelwood is injured, although his return is said to be close. That is great news seeing as he can cover left back, a position where the Albion now look quite short having lost the services of Kadioglu for the foreseeable future.

Finally, defensive pair Adam Webster and Pervis Estupinan are both expected to at least be part of the bench on Saturday night.

The most notable absentee for Arsenal is of course Bukayo Saka. Some would argue he had been the Premier League’s best player this season until requiring minor hamstring surgery, ruling him out until March. Losing Saka is a significant blow to the Gunners’ title hopes – but good news for Brighton.

Former Albion centre back turned Arsenal right back Ben White misses the game with a knee injury. It does at least give him more time to spend under a sunbed.

White’s fellow defenders Oleksandr Zinchenko and Takehiro Tomiyaso will also be sitting this one out due to injury. Neither player has a return date as of yet.

Lastly, Dutch international Jurrien Timber serves a suspension after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season in the win at Brentford.

Arsenal players to watch out for

Arsenal have world class talent all over the pitch, explaining why they are the nearest challengers to Liverpool at the top of the table at the current time. Here are a couple who could cause Brighton big problems at the Amex.

Leandro Trossard

A man that needs no introduction. Trossard will return for his second visit to the Amex since leaving Brighton in January 2023. He scored last time and managed to rile up Albion supporters with a social media post afterwards, so expect a frosty reception for the Belgian.

The manner in which he exited Brighton did little to help his standing amongst Seagulls fans. A very public spat with Roberto De Zerbi saw Trossard refuse to train, even going so far as to travel back home to Belgium in an effort to force through a move to the Emirates Stadium.

In the end, a deal was completed between the two clubs for a fee believed to be in the region of £25 million. It was a big shame it ended in the way in which it did.

Trossard was a good player for Brighton but completlyd severed his ties. He has gone from a once-adored Albion winger to someone the club have a huge amount of animosity towards.

The move has worked out well for Trossard, however, and he has taken his game to a new level. He had his most prolific campaign in English football last season, scoring 16 goals in all competitions to help Arsenal to their second place finish.

This season has not quite hit the same heights. Trossard has found starts harder to come by with Arteta opting to use Gabriel Martinelli instead.

Trossard has three goals to his name so far, although it would be no surprise to see him add to that number at the Amex as he will be fired up to prove a point against his former club.

Gabriel Jesus

With Arsenal possessing so much top class attacking players, it is hard to pick just two to focus on. In the end, I have opted for Gabriel Jesus alongside Trossard.

The Brazilian international has been in red hot form recently, scoring six goals in his last four games in all competitions. Five of those have come against Crystal Palace. Thank you, Jesus!

With the injury to Saka, Jesus has proven the man to take the scoring mantle. He brings speed, agility and flair – and will be looking to continue his fabulous run on Saturday.

The 27-year-old is only one goal away from eight for the season, matching his total for the whole of 2023-24 with Arsenal having at least 24 games still to play. My money is firmly on him to comfortable exceed his haul from the previous campaign.

Final Thoughts

Arsenal will be very difficult opponents for the Albion but not impossible to beat whilst they are without Saka and a number of key defenders. Not that it has stopped the bookies and some pundits writing Brighton off.

Both sides will feel this is must-win for different reasons. Brighton badly need to end this run of seven without a victory if they are to challenge for European football. As for the Gunners, three points are a must to try and close the gape with runaway leaders Liverpool.

The Albion will come into the game fresher, having had two days extra rest compared to Arsenal. That could prove important and a point at Villa should give Brighton a much needed confidence boost.

Where the game will be won or lost is probably set pieces. Arteta’s men are masters, scoring a crazy number of goals from dead ball situations so far this season.

Brighton have struggled to defend corners and free kicks for several years now. This would be a good week for Hurzeler to find some improvement in that department.

With all that being said, I feel confident the Albion are more than capable of getting something from the game. We are playing well right now and when you have players like Kaoru Mitoma, Joao Pedro, Simon Adingra and Julio Enciso, you always have a chance.