After back-to-back London derby victories, we’re on the road again when we head down to Brighton & Hove Albion for midweek Premier League action on Wednesday (7.30pm).
We’re looking to extend our nine-game unbeaten run against a Seagulls side who have strung two successive wins together themselves, but have tasted defeat at our hands twice this season already, as we eliminated them from the Carabao Cup before a 2-1 league success in December.
Those results extended our unbeaten run against the Sussex side to six games, but with Manchester City in action at the same time as us, only a win will ensure we maintain our five-point lead at the top of the table come full-time.
SEAGULLS’ SEASON IN LIMBO
A superb start to the season saw the Seagulls soar as high as fifth heading into December, but a miserable run of form saw them record one league win in 13 matches as they plummeted down the table.
Having knocked Manchester United out of the FA Cup at Old Trafford, Liverpool ended their hopes in the fourth round, but with discontent rising on the south coast, Hurzeler has responded with victories in each of their last two games to stave off any threat of being sucked into a relegation battle.
A 2-0 win at Brentford was followed by a 2-1 success at home to Nottingham Forest, with Danny Welbeck netting in both matches to earn a new contract. Now, instead of looking nervously over their shoulders, there’s hope that a spell of form similar to their autumn exploits could see them in the fight for European qualification.
WHAT THE MANAGERS SAY
Arteta: “They’re a very, very good side, the way they’re coached as well. They have a sequence of years with a very similar style and players that fit really, really well with what they want to do, and they really believe in what they do. So, they’re always a very tough opponent.
“We’ve managed a lot of emotions over the last eight months. The deal from here until the end is that we’re going to have to do a lot of the things that have nothing to do with emotion as well. To continue to rehearse, and to hope to win what we want to win.” – every word from Mikel’s pre-match press conference
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Every word from Arteta’s pre-Brighton presser
Hurzeler: “We show the players who are not starting at the moment what they need to do to get back and most times it’s quite simple. It’s hard work. It’s showing it in every training session.
“That it was the wrong decision from the gaffer to put me on the bench, and I think that’s the attitude players need to have. They have to take responsibility. They have to accept the situation like it is and try to get out of it, together with our help.”
TEAM NEWS
Martin Odegaard missed the win against Chelsea on Sunday with a slight knee knock and continues to be monitored, while Declan Rice came off in the second half with a slight issue, but Arteta hopes he’ll recover, while David Raya is fine after needing on-field treatment.
Ben White is out with the muscle issue that has kept him out for the past couple of matches, while Mikel Merino is our only other injury concern after undergoing foot surgery.
Hurzeler has a relatively full squad to select from, should Yasin Ayari recover as expected from the shoulder injury that has kept him out for the past four weeks, and Mats Wieffer be fit and available despite going off in the win over Forest.
Stefanos Tzimas and Adam Webster are the only other players in the treatment room after they suffered long-term knee injuries, but James Milner is set to be rested.
TALKING TACTICS
Adrian Clarke: Hurzeler’s side are energetic, aggressive, and likely to press us hard. Brighton have produced the highest number of pressed sequences in this season’s Premier League, and rank second for the highest number of turnovers.
Brighton had moved away from their possession-based style, but in their last eight successive matches in all competitions, our next opponents have had the majority share of possession. Another recent tactical change is the use of Jack Hinshelwood as a No.10, and the 20-year-old breaks into the box to get on the end of crosses, while out of possession he is also incredibly diligent.
The most in-form Seagulls are Welbeck and Diego Gomez, who have both scored in the last two matches. The latter is especially effective when driving inside from the right, and he has a thunderbolt strike in his armoury. Netting 10 goals in all competitions, the Paraguayan needs to be closed down.
One area where Brighton are particularly strong is defending corners and wide free-kicks. They have only conceded five times from set pieces in 2025/26, which is the joint-best record in the division. Finding clear space inside the box is not easy against Hurzeler’s well-drilled team.
FACTS AND STATS
Brighton have won two of their last 11 Premier League matches against us, with both wins coming at Emirates Stadium
We are unbeaten in our last five Premier League visits to the Amex since a 2-1 loss in June 2020. In fact, we’ve lost just one of our nine games on the south coast across the last four seasons.
The Seagulls have failed to win any of their five evening kick-offs in the Premier League this season, while we haven’t lost any of our last 19, stretching back to December 2023.
Only two of the last nine Premier League meetings have been won by the home side, though we won 2-1 at home earlier this season.
Between August and December, we scored just 11 goals in nine away Premier League games, an average of 1.2 per game. Since the turn of the year we’ve netted 14 in six on the road, an average of 2.3.
Viktor Gyokeres has been involved in six goals in his last seven away games in all competitions (5 goals, 1 assist).
Kai Havertz has scored in each of his last four Premier League games against Brighton, scoring and assisting in his most recent game at the Amex in April 2024.
Danny Welbeck has scored four career goals against us, however he’s failed to find the back of the net in any of his last six attempts in all competitions.
He has scored 10 Premier League goals this season, matching his best-ever tally. He could become only the third player to score more than 10 in a Premier League season for the very first time aged 35 or older, after Gary McAllister in 1990/00 and Zlatan Ibrahimovic in 2016/17.
Bukayo Saka has either scored (2) or assisted (2) in each of his last four appearances against the Seagulls in all competitions, netting in each of his last two appearances at the Amex.
MATCH OFFICIALS
Chris Kavanagh has been handed control of this game, the fourth time he has overseen us this season following our 1-0 loss at Liverpool, 2-0 win at Burnley and the 3-2 win at Bournemouth in January. Across the 27 times he has refereed us, we’ve never been awarded a penalty, but had just one player sent off – Eddie Nketiah at Leicester City in 2020.
It’ll be the fourth time he has handled the Seagulls in 2025/26, all at the Amex, which have seen the host win one and drawn twice, the most recent being a 1-1 draw against Everton in January. The Mancunian has issued two red cards and six penalties in 20 top-flight matches this term.
RECENT TRIPS TO BRIGHTON
After losing two of our first three Premier League trips to the Amex Stadium, we haven’t tasted defeat in any of our last five visits since. The last trip there though yielded only a point as we took the lead through Ethan Nwaneri in January 2025, only for a controversial penalty to be awarded which Joao Pedro netted.
Back in April 2024, we recorded an emphatic 3-0 win thanks to a Bukayo Saka penalty plus strikes from Havertz and ex-Seagull Leandro Trossard, while on New Year’s Eve 2022 we ran out 4-2 victors when Saka, Odegaard, Gabriel Martinelli and Nketiah all netted.
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LIVE COVERAGE
Tune into Live From N5 just before kick-off to hear live commentary of the game provided by Dan Roebuck and Adrian Clarke, who will guide you through all the action if you’re out and about.
You can also find out which broadcasters are showing the game live wherever you are in the world.
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