Preview: Arsenal v Brighton | Pre-match report | News

We’re back at the Emirates Stadium for our first game after Christmas as we take on Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League on Saturday at 3pm (UK).

Following a Carabao Cup quarter-final penalty shootout win over Crystal Palace, attention turns once again to the Premier League as we aim for a third consecutive win in the competition, as we strive to remain top of the table until 2026.

We have already faced the Seagulls this season, beating Fabian Hurzeler’s side in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup, thanks to goals from Ethan Nwaneri and Bukayo Saka at the Emirates Stadium.

Seagulls trying to fly away

Our visitors find themselves in ninth place heading into the competition in a tight Premier League table. Hurzeler’s side are just five points off the Champions League places but just five points clear of 16th.

A run of three wins in four games in November, as well as victories against Manchester City and Chelsea earlier in the season, saw them climb up to fifth place, but December brought four games without a win, three of which were at home. They were beaten by Aston Villa and Liverpool and drew against West Ham United on the south coast, while their last outing a week ago resulted in a 0-0 draw at Sunderland.

There is a familiar face among this campaign’s goals for the Seagulls, with former Gunner Danny Welbeck netting seven Premier League goals, just three short of his previous record in the competition, achieved in 2024/25. However, due to a back problem, Welbeck did not feature in Brighton’s last two matches, in which they failed to score.

what managers say

Arteta: “It’s a club that I admire a lot and what they have done over the last 10 years is incredible. They have had different managers, and now Fabian [Hurzeler] arrived with very different ideas as well, a lot of energy, a really very committed and very, very united team.

“They have a lot of quality, they can play in different ways and they have versatile players. So it’s going to be a difficult match.”

Hurzeler: “The most important thing is to get the small margins against Arsenal, to defend set pieces well, to be good in possession and off the ball. We have to stay alive for 90 minutes. But we can’t go there with the mindset of only thinking about defending.

“We have to play with courage. We will try to bring our style of play on the pitch. We know we can beat every team in the league, although it will be a big challenge, but we are going there to win.”

Team News

Mikel Arteta hopes Kai Havertz will return “in a few days, maybe weeks” after returning to training following a knee injury he suffered against Manchester United in August. The coach also said he hoped Gabriel would return soon after picking up an injury during the November international break with Brazil.

Elsewhere, Gabriel Martinelli was injured against Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup, with Piero Hincapie missing the match completely after playing 90 minutes against Everton on December 20. Ben White remains out with a hamstring injury.

Danny Welbeck is expected to return from injury after missing Brighton’s game against Sunderland last time out. Jan Paul van Hecke is also expected to recover after training during the preparation for the match.

Lewis Dunk and Diego Gomez are also back in contention after missing the standoff with the Black Cats with a one-match suspension. Carlos Baleba will miss the competition as he represents Cameroon at the Africa Cup of Nations.

conversation tactics

Adrian Clarke, writing in the official program of the day: Hurzeler is a big fan of a 4-2-3-1 formation, using it in every Premier League game so far this season. The two full-backs will occasionally switch into central areas to create an extra man in the engine room. When this happens, we need to watch out for opposing full-back bombardments to support attacks.

When they choose to do so, Brighton can build attacks patiently, with only four teams producing a greater number of passing sequences exceeding 10 passes this season. Where possible, the Seagulls will also take risks, drawing opponents before playing through the press. They are very comfortable in possession.

Since becoming head coach, Hurzeler has developed a more comprehensive tactical approach, which allows them to be stylistically flexible depending on the opponent. Although they like to control games, Brighton have actually performed better when enjoying a minority share of possession, and five of their opening six Premier League wins in 2025/26 have seen them have less than 50% possession. By playing this way, they have taken the scalp of Manchester City, Newcastle United and Chelsea.

Hurzeler loves to put pressure on his team, and because they do it in an aggressive but coordinated manner, often springing up a deep midfielder to harass the man on the ball, Brighton have had more shots off high turnovers than anyone else. That said, they fell back in a recent clash at Liverpool, retreating into a midfield block that lacked their usual energy and verve.

Facts and statistics

Our three Premier League home wins against Brighton were 2-0 (October 2017, May 2021, December 2023).

We have won each of our last five Premier League home games. Only once under Mikel Arteta have we had a longer run at the Emirates, securing 10 consecutive victories between April and December 2022.

Brighton are winless in their last four Premier League games against us (D2 L2).

The Seagulls have never won a Premier League match in December under Fabian Hurzeler in 10 attempts (D6 L4). This is the most games a manager has ever gone in December without winning.

Among players who have played over 500 minutes in the Premier League this season, only Manchester City pair Jeremy Doku (3.4) and Rayan Cherki (3.2) have created more chances per 90 minutes than our captain Martin Odegaard (2.5), with the Norwegian creating four last time out against Everton.

David Raya could make his 150th appearance in the Premier League: since his debut in August 2021, he has kept more clean sheets than any other goalkeeper in the competition (58).

match officials

John Brooks will take charge of our match against Brighton this weekend. Brooks has refereed nine matches this season, posting 35 yellows and three reds, including two in his last whistle-stop outing, sending off Xavi Simons and Cristian Romero in Tottenham Hotspur’s 2-1 home defeat to Liverpool.

Brooks also officiated in our 2-0 win over West Ham United in October. He will be assisted by Simon Bennett and Craig Taylor. Paul Tierney is on VAR with Nick Hopton as his assistant. Tierney was the VAR for our last Premier League game against the Seagulls, a 1-1 draw at the Amex Stadium in January.

Arbitrator: John Brooks
Assistants: Simon Bennett and Craig Taylor
Fourth official: Ruebyn Ricardo
OUR: Paul Tierney
VAR Assistant: Nick Hopton

Recent visits

We proved too strong for Brighton in our opening game in the Carabao Cup fourth round in October. Kepa Arrizabalaga was kept busy in the first half before Ethan Nwaneri headed home a fine first time goal before Bukayo Saka completed the win late on.

After drawing 1-1 against the Seagulls in August 2024 when Havertz scored, our last home win against the Seagulls before that was in December 2023, thanks to goals from Gabriel Jesus and Havertz again. The previous campaign saw the Seagulls pick up two wins, knocking us out of the League Cup by a score of 3-1 and then a 3-0 win to end our championship challenge.

Live coverage

Tune in to Live From N5 an hour before kick-off to see the best build-up to our clash against the Seagulls.

We have an action-packed preview, featuring an interview with penalty shootout hero Kepa Arrizabalaga, as well as actor Gregg Sulkin entering the series.

All this, plus tactical preparation, games and much more before departure at 3 p.m.!

You can also discover which broadcasters show the action livewherever you are in the world.