Overview
The Premier League schedule continues to be dense throughout the holidays. Arsenal hopes to at least maintain the top spot when facing Brighton at Emirates.
After the defeat to Aston Villa in injury time, thereby ending a 3-month unbeaten streak with 8 wins in 11 Premier League matches, Arsenal quickly regained their rhythm in recent weeks.
Continuing the breathtaking 2-1 victory over the bottom team Wolves, Mikel Arteta's team defeated Everton 1-0 in the most recent match.
The Gunners have had 4 1-0 victories, more than any other team in the Premier League this season. This time, Viktor Gyokeres' penalty in the first half - after Jake O'Brien's handball in the penalty area - was enough for the "Gunners" to keep all 3 points.
Thanks to that, Arsenal have scored the opening goal in 19 matches in all competitions this season and have won in all those matches.
Arsenal may widen their Premier League lead to 5 points this weekend, but that scenario requires Manchester City to lose to Nottingham Forest in an early match, and at the same time Aston Villa to stumble against Chelsea.
However, Arsenal has a basis to be confident in their work, as Brighton entered the match after a two-defeat streak and two draws in the last 4 rounds.
In the latest match, Fabian Hurzeler's team could only draw 0-0 with newcomer Sunderland at Amex. Coincidentally, this result also means that no team in the Premier League has had more 0-0 draws than Brighton since they were promoted in 2017.
The draw with Sunderland is the 12th time in 17 Premier League matches this season that Brighton has not scored in the first half. No team has a worse record in this statistic. Arsenal - the team with the best defense in the league - will consider this another event to strengthen confidence.
However, Arsenal's head-to-head record against Brighton at the Emirates is not really convincing. They only won 3 out of 8 home matches in the Premier League against this opponent (38%). Among the teams Arsenal has faced at least five times, only against Wimbledon (25%) and Liverpool (36%) did they have a lower winning rate.
Notably, despite being goalless in the last 2 matches in the Premier League, Brighton has never experienced 3 consecutive matches without scoring since January 2024. In addition, every time Brighton scores at the Emirates, they leave the field with positive results (three wins, two draws).
In the middle of the week, Arsenal advanced to the English League Cup semi-finals when they defeated Crystal Palace on penalties after a 1-1 draw at the Emirates. Maxence Lacroix's own goal in the 80th minute seemed to open the door to the next round for the home team, before Marc Guehi "poured the cold water" with an equalizer in the last minutes of added time, dragging the match into a penalty shootout. After 14 successful turns, Lacroix became the focus again when he missed, causing Arsenal to win overall.
Arteta is likely to rotate the squad more than Hurzeler, as Arsenal only has 3 days off after the League Cup match against Crystal Palace. However, the two pillars of the home team are still predicted to continue to be in the starting lineup.
Goalkeeper David Raya is about to reach 150 matches in the Premier League for Arsenal. Meanwhile, Martin Odegaard has fully recovered and regained his form.
Head-to-head record
Brighton may not have won in their last four encounters with Arsenal in the Premier League (two draws, two losses), but they still know how to make the "Gunners" feel regret. Both confrontations last season closed with a comeback scenario to keep the score 1-1.
The first meeting took place just three weeks after the 2024-2025 season kicked off, the time Arsenal entered the match with excitement from two consecutive victories.
Kai Havertz opened the score for the home team at the end of the first half, but the turning point came after Declan Rice's controversial red card in the second half. Taking advantage of the number of players, Brighton equalized right before the 60th minute thanks to Joao Pedro's goal.
In the second leg at Amex - taking place 4 days after the New Year began - a familiar scenario reappeared. And once again, Joao Pedro played the role of "rescuer", bringing Brighton another point in the match against Arsenal.
Score prediction: Arsenal 1-0 Brighton
The match between Arsenal and Brighton takes place at 10:00 PM on December 27th (Vietnam time).
