Match Preview: Brighton v Arsenal
When the Premier League decided it was to return behind closed doors, there were a lot of sceptical people. We were definitely in that category here at WeAreBrighton.com Towers, believing that it was utter nonsense to start playing football again when hundreds of people a day were dying.
Germany – as is so often the case in the modern world – showed us the way though. Empty stadiums may not be great, but as long as the players and those inside grounds can be kept safe, then the season needs to be completed.
You can’t start giving out titles and demoting clubs based on what has happened after 29 games – even if that means that Brighton pay the price and end up relegated in six weeks time.
And despite the very real threat of a return to Championship, we’re excited about the return of football. After three long months, it feels like a new start.
It is easy to forget the dire form of two wins in 19 games since Graham Potter signed that new six-year contract in November.
Instead, there is a sense of optimism. There are nine games to go now for Potter to prove his worth and save the Seagulls from relegation, starting with the visit of Arsenal – which leads us nicely into our first match preview for 15 weeks…
A brief history of Arsenal
Formed in 1886 as Dial Square FC, Arsenal rattled through the names in their early years. They were known as Royal Arsenal, Woolwich Arsenal, The Arsenal and finally, just plain old Arsenal.
One name they didn’t have which perhaps they should have is Arsenal Dons, given that their 1913 move across the Thames from South London to North London was very reminiscent of MK Dons upping sticks for Milton Keynes 90 years later.
The Gunners’ position as the first ever franchise football club sparked a heated rivalry with Tottenham Hotspur, to the point where fans of both teams now seem to prefer finishing above their counterparts than actually winning trophies.
This is probably because Arsenal in particular are in a real slump. They haven’t lifted a championship since the Invincibles Season of 2003-04 and that doesn’t look like changing anytime soon.
Supporters hounded out Arsene Wenger in 2018 and are now learning the hard way that you don’t know what you have got until it is gone. Unai Emery lasted less than 18 months in charge and Mikel Arteta is now in the hot seat.
It is asking a lot of a rookie manager to turn around a sinking ship the size of Arsenal. Gunners fans know this and have since started a bizarre campaign to blame Arsenal Fan TV for their troubles.
Never before in the history of football has a supporter website been blamed for a club not challenging for a Premier League title.
Host Robbie Lyle even required a police escort out of the away end at Goodison Park back in December.
Hopefully, this blaming blogs and other football content creators catches on. We can’t wait for the “WeAreBrighton.com Get Out of Our Club” campaign to start, leading to the WAB team being bundled out of our away game at Rotherham United next February.
Arsenal this season
For the second time in this match preview before Brighton host Arsenal, we have to again stress what a difference having three months off can make – as the Gunners 3-0 defeat at Manchester City on Wednesday night highlights.
Before football was suspended in March, Arsenal had not lost a Premier League game in 2020. There was even talk that they might sneak a Champions League spot given their improving form.
A heavy loss against one of the finest teams on the planet led to much mockery. Christ, even we have tweeted that we feel confident about the Albion beating Arsenal now, completely forgetting that they were unbeaten in the same calendar year in which Brighton are so far yet to win a game. That pre-lockdown form should serve as a reminder of their talents.
If the Gunners do manage to finish in the top five – which may be enough to play Champions League football in 2020-21 because of Manchester City’s potential ban for breaking financial fair play rules – then that will represent an excellent first half-season in charge for Arteta.
Brighton’s head-to-head record against Arsenal
Given the historical disparity in class between the two sides, you are probably expecting to discover in this section of our match preview that Arsenal lead the head-to-head by some distance from Brighton.
That isn’t the case though, at least not in top flight football. There have been 13 previous Premier League and Division One meetings with Arsenal winning less than half. The Gunners have six victories to Brighton’s four with three draws from the remaining games.
Throw in FA Cup, League Cup and wartime football and the numbers do become a bit grimmer for Brighton, with just five wins from 32. But for the purposes of positive thinking, we can ignore those.
Brighton’s head-to-head record with Arsenal
Last six meetings
• Arsenal 1-2 Brighton (Premier League, 05/12/19)
• Arsenal 1-1 Brighton (Premier League, 05/05/19)
• Brighton 1-1 Arsenal (Premier League, 26/12/18)
• Brighton 2-1 Arsenal (Premier League, 04/03/18)
• Arsenal 2-0 Brighton (Premier League, 01/10/17)
• Brighton 2-3 Arsenal (FA Cup Fourth Round, 25/01/15)
Further positivity in our Brighton versus Arsenal match preview comes from the Albion’s recent form against the Gunners. The Seagulls are unbeaten in the past four meetings, claiming eight points out of 12.
The most recent of those came in December at the Emirates Stadium. It was an historic night in North London as not only did the Albion pick up their first win away at one of the big six since promotion to the Premier League in 2017, but they did so by playing Arsenal off the park. Now would be a bloody good time for Potter to mastermind a repeat of that sort of performance.
Team news
Jose Izquierdo remains on the sidelines with Brighton having confirmed that Izquierdo will not play again this season, making it 18 months out injured for the unfortunate winger.
Other than that, Potter has a full squad to choose from. One of the advantages of the three month break is that it has given Alexis Mac Allister an extra 15 weeks to adjust to living in England, as well as a mini pre-season.
Asking a 21-year-old who had never played outside of Argentina to come straight into a Premier League relegation battle and be the man to keep Brighton up was always going to be asking a lot. Hence why Potter had been so reluctant to use him following his arrival from Boca Juniors.
There can be no such qualms now. If Mac Allister is good enough, Potter should have no problem in chucking him in from the start against Arsenal. That will be the most interesting thing to look for in Brighton’s team selection.
As for the Gunners, they lost two players to injury at the Etihad Stadium in midweek and saw David Luiz sent off. We would prefer Luiz not to be suspended given that calamitous form might have gifted Brighton a couple of goals. Lord knows we could do with that.
Arsenal’s key players
Mesut Ozil is meant to be the world-class talent in Arsenal’s squad but Arteta didn’t even name him among the substitutes at the Etihad Stadium for “tactical reasons”. Most people seem to have translated that as Ozil being a twat.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is instead the man to keep an eye on. He has 20 Premier League goals so far this season. Take those away and the Gunners could be in a relegation battle, which would be hilarious.
Aubameyang only has a year left on his current deal and there is plenty of speculation over his future. If that impacts on his performance, then Brighton’s chances of getting a result will improve dramatically.
A good WeAreBrighton.com memory of Arsenal at home
It was a day of comedy for us when Arsenal came to the Amex in March 2018. Not only did Glenn Murray and Lewis Dunk score in a 2-1 win over a hapless Gunners outfit, but we went to Komedia’s Sunday night show afterwards. So bad were Arsenal that day that there football was funnier than the stand up.
A bad WeAreBrighton.com memory of Arsenal at home
The 2015 FA Cup Fourth Round tie wasn’t a good experience for one member of the WAB team. Not eating all day coupled with 10 pints of San Miguel coupled with going to the Walkabout at 1am in the morning to watch the WWE Royal Rumble resulted in a lot of sick being deposited in places that weren’t the toilet. Still, at least Chris O’Grady scored.
Our favourite player to play for Brighton and Arsenal
If you have read a Brighton versus Arsenal match preview from games gone by, then you might have noticed the sheer number of different loan players we have been able to list in this section.
We wrote in lockdown about Brighton and Arsenal’s special relationship which saw the Gunners send some of their talented – and lots of their untalented – youngsters to the Goldstone, Withdean and the Amex.
That relationship was forged by the great Liam Brady and although he never played for Brighton, Brady had a significant impact on the history of the Albion as the man who put together the consortium which ultimately led to Dick Knight saving the club.
For that reason, he has to be our favourite connection between the clubs.
What we like about Arsenal
Arsenal Fan TV is superb entertainment and when it riles up so many people, it’s very clearly doing something right.
Away from football, the Islington area features two excellent prisons which have housed some famous inmates down the years. HMP Pentonville has held George Best, Boy George and George Michael while Oscar Wilde was also imprisoned there for the crime of being gay. Manchester City’s oil-rich owners like this.
On the female side, HMP Holloway was home to many suffragettes who were jailed for fighting for women’s rights such as Emmeline Pankhurst, Emily Davison and Constance Markievicz. Manchester City’s oil-rich owners also like this.
Prediction
You may have noticed a string of uncharacteristic positivity running through this match preview and we’re going to take that into our prediction – Brighton 2-1 Arsenal, just like the last time we met.
