Game Week 20 Predictions: Arsenal to win at Brighton

Arsenal visits Brighton at the Amex, aiming for three points to close the gap on Liverpool, while the Seagulls seek their first win since November.

Arsenal could go within three points of three points of Liverpool on Saturday with a win at Brighton, will the Seagulls let them? (Photo credit: Sky Sports)

 Brighton vs. Arsenal.

The Amex

6:30 pm

Arsenal already has a win this season after they beat Brentford away on New Year’s Day, and if you remember how they started 2024, Brighton will be quite worried.

The Seagulls have enjoyed some favourable results against the Gunners in the past; they have some memorable moments to draw inspiration from, but they lost to the Gunners home and away last season. They will hope to end that run on Saturday.

The dramatic reverse fixture left the Gunners feeling betrayed; Declan Rice was sent off for the smallest of touches on the ball under the "delaying the restart" rule, but Joao Pedro did not receive the same punishment when he committed the same offence earlier in the game.

It ended 1-1 at the Emirates; such a result wouldn’t help either side much, with the Gunners needing a win to go within three points of Liverpool, although the log leaders would have two games in hand, with one of them being the big one against Manchester United on Sunday and the other the Merseyside Derby.

Brighton hasn’t won a single game since November; they have drawn four of their last five, and they would wonder what they need to do to turn those into three points. They almost lost the last one; they had to tie Villa twice to get a point.

After catching a bug that caused him to miss the win at Brentford, Arsenal will welcome Kai Havertz back into the squad, and Declan Rice is also fit to start. After his impressive performance against the Bees, Ethan Nwaneri could return to the starting lineup, while Gabriel Jesus hopes to continue his scoring streak.

Arsenal will be without Bukayo Saka for about two months, according to Mikel Arteta, while Raheem Sterling is nearing a return. Ben White will not return until late January at the earliest, but for the Brighton game, Arteta must find solutions at right back with Jurrien Timber suspended.

New signing Diego Gomez will not be able to play against Arsenal, but Jack Hinshelwood has returned to training, and Ferdi Kadioglu will undergo an assessment before the game. This game comes too soon for Danny Welbeck, but Pervis Estupinian will hope to make the matchday squad.

Fabian Hurzelar rotates his team frequently, so predicting his starting lineup would be challenging; however, Simon Adingra had a decent game against Villa, so he could get the nod again. Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli both scored against Brentford. Will they keep the form against the Seagulls?

Verdict: Arsenal is to win.