The Emirates host Arsenal and Brighton as the teams collied on Thursday evening at 21:15 CET.
Fredrik Ljungberg took over from Unai Emery, who finally left the club after constant critics towards the Spanish manager. However, things didn’t start well for the Swede as Arsenal drew with one of the league’s worst sides, Norwich City. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s two goals couldn’t secure the three points, and the Gunners haven’t tasted a win in the last eight matches in all competitions.
To make things worse for Ljungberg, the Canarians were obviously the better side and Arsenal can count themselves lucky to have gotten away with a point.
The non-drawing Seagulls
Just like the last season, Brighton looks to be in the relegation battle, having won 15 points in 14 matches, just two more than the 18th Southampton. The Seagulls are on a three-match losing streak as Graham Potter looks to end the drought against the struggling Arsenal side. However, the job won’t be made easier by the absence of the team’s reliable midfielder, Solly March, who underwent surgery recently.
An interesting tidbit about Brighton is that they haven’t drawn a match in the last nine games in all competitions. Despite losing all of their last three matches, it was understandable, given that they played against Liverpool, Leicester, and Manchester United in successive fashion. However, before the hard streak of games, The Seagulls took two wins in a row against potential relegation candidates, Everton and Norwich City.
Arsenal and Brighton often put on a show when placed together on the same pitch. Five of their last six direct matchups ended in both teams scoring at least a goal. It’s also interesting to see that the teams are tied in head-to-head matchups since Brighton returned to the Premier League, with two last year’s matches ending in a draw, and both teams taking a win each the year before.
Goals, goals, goals
The home side has a specifically porous defense, which led them to concede 21 goals in 14 games as none of Shkodran Mustafi, David Luiz, or Callum Chambers look adept to play in a high-level defensive system. However, Brighton isn’t much better in that aspect, so it’s realistic to expect that these two teams both score and concede on Thursday. Arsenal haven’t kept a clean sheet for three consecutive matches, while the Seagulls were unable to do so in six last matches. Everything points to goals in both nets.
Prediction: BTTS – Both Teams to Score
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