Premier League leaders Arsenal, fresh from their penalty shootout win over Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup quarterfinal, host Brighton & Hove Albion at the Emirates on Saturday afternoon.
With Manchester City playing before this game kicks off, Arsenal’s slender two-point lead could have already evaporated by the time they take to the field in London. Mikel Arteta’s side are in the midst of a packed December and play the sixth of eight games this month this weekend.
The festive season has tested Arsenal’s squad depth, with Arsenal potentially without seven players for this game. While Fabian Hurzeler could welcome back five players for this fixture, Brighton could still be without four of their squad, which has resulted in a run of four games without a win.
Here is everything you need to know ahead of Saturday’s game.
How to watch:
The match will be not be broadcast in the UK, but will be shown on NBC Sports in the U.S., JioHotstar in India and Stan Sport in Australia. You can also follow ESPN’s live updates.
Key Details:
Kick-off time: Saturday, Dec. 27 at 3 p.m. GMT (11 a.m. ET; 8:30 p.m. IST and 1 a.m. AEST, Sunday)
Venue: Emirates Stadium, London
Referee: John Brooks
VAR: Paul Tierney
Odds:
Injury and Team News:
Arsenal
Kai Havertz, F: knee, DOUBT, back in training
Piero Hincapié, D: shoulder, DOUBT
Gabriel Martinelli, F: knock, OUT, est. return late-Dec
Ben White, D: hamstring, OUT, est. return mid-Jan
Cristhian Mosquera, D: ankle, OUT, est. return mid-Jan
Gabriel Magalhães, D: muscle, OUT, est. return early-Jan
Max Dowman, M: ankle, OUT, est. return early-Feb
Brighton & Hove Albion
Carlos Baleba, M: AFCON, OUT
Mats Weiffer, D: knock, DOUBT
Adam Webster, D: knee, OUT, est.return early-Jan
Solly March, M: knee, OUT, est.return early-Jan
Stefanos Tzimas, F: ACL, OUT, est. return early-Aug 2026
Talking Points:
Arsenal’s finishing troubles
Despite having ‘won’ all of their last three games, Arsenal have scored zero goals from open play despite generating 5.89xG. Three of the last four goals Arsenal have scored have come via open goals, with Viktor Gyökeres the only player to score for Arteta’s side – which came from the penalty spot.
In some ways, this is still good news for Arsenal – xG always wins, and spells of underperforming or overperforming xG always return to the mean, eventually. Given Arsenal’s xG conceded in those three games is a paltry 1.49, Arsenal are still producing winning performances.
Yet, the margins in the Premier League are incredibly tight, and another xG underperformance could come back to bite Arsenal. Arteta needs his attackers to be far more efficient, as Brighton have the firepower to produce a sting in the tail, like Palace did in injury time.
Returnees could end Brighton’s winless run
When Hurzeler oversaw Brighton’s 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest at the end of November, his team were fifth in the table, three points behind second-placed Manchester City. December saw Brighton go four games without a win, as they’ve slipped to ninth place, now thirteen points behind City, and fifteen behind leaders Arsenal.
Hurzeler had to dig deep within his squad in the 0-0 draw against Sunderland last week. Lewis Dunk and Diego Gómez have served their suspensions, while Danny Welbeck and Jan Paul van Hecke are expected to train and be available for this game. Hurzeler was also positive that Mats Wieffer could feature, though he faces a late fitness test.
Brighton have beaten Manchester City, Chelsea and Newcastle this season – with a majority of his squad fit again, Hurzeler has the options to correct what has been a miserable December so far.
Gabriel Jesus or Viktor Gyökeres? (or even Kai Havertz?)
The best (and worst) of Gabriel Jesus was on full display for Arsenal against Palace. Dovetailing beautifully with Gabriel Martinelli and Myles Lewis-Skelly as he interchanged positions on the left, the fluidity of Arsenal’s attacking play was dazzling. It brought back memories of Arsenal’s first title challenge under Arteta in the 2022/23 season, when Jesus was the lynchpin of a maverick Arsenal attack that tormented defences.
At the same time, Jesus’ penchant for not being at the business end of chances, while also miscuing the plethora of chances that did fall at his feel simply underlined why critics have always underlined the need for Arsenal to sign a lethal striker to get them over the line in the title race.
Gyökeres was supposedly that answer but it’s telling how just three days after scoring a confidence-boosting penalty, Arteta chose not to bring him on against Palace – even when Arsenal were chasing a late winner or for the penalty shootout that eventually followed. The manager’s lack of trust in the Swede perhaps extends to his teammates as well, who have eschewed many of Gyokeres’ runs this season.
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Kai Havertz has returned to training, and with the current Arsenal team much more suited to his qualities, Gyokeres and Jesus could find their play-time reduced once the German finds his sharpness. Against Brighton however, it will most probably be Gyokeres leading Arsenal’s line, and that might present more problems for Arsenal than solutions.
Week’s worth of rest should aid Hurzeler in earning first win over Arteta
Hurzeler has not beaten Arteta in three attempts, but in many ways, it’s a stat that needs context. Arsenal’s 2-0 Carabao Cup win earlier in the season was against a much-changed Brighton lineup, but two 1-1 draws last season point to the German manager having Arteta’s number.
One of those games was the controversial fixture which saw Declan Rice sent off but across both games, Brighton generated more xG overall (3.28) than Arsenal did (3.02). With quite a few of his squad returning from injury, coupled with a full week’s worth of rest in a busy December, Brighton ought to be the fresher side.
While Arsenal have the wherewithal to rotate their forward line and midfield, their defence will feature players who will be playing their third game in a week. A fresh Welbeck or Georginio Rutter could cause plenty of problems with their tireless nature, and while Brighton may miss AFCON participant Carlos Baleba in midfield, they have the potential to cause quite the upset.
Should Arsenal dip into the market in January?
Another game, another injury for Arsenal. Mikel Arteta confirmed that Martinelli had picked up a knock against Palace that ruled him out for this game, while Piero Hincapié is nursing a shoulder issue. The spate of injuries at centre-back have forced Arteta into fewer options across his backline, and with fewer options to rotate, it only invites more injuries in a vicious cycle.
It also seems to be catching up fitness wise. Arsenal’s hitherto unbreachable defence has conceded four injury-time goals in recent times, resulting in a loss against Aston Villa, a draw against Sunderland, as well as a potential draw against Wolves (that was eventually won), and necessitating penalties against Palace.
With four of their eight defenders injured, Arsenal might be forced into the transfer market in January should any of their currently fit defenders fall afoul of being overplayed in a busy December / January period.
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