English Premier League, Season 2017/18
Date: Sunday, 1st October 2017
Kick-off at 12:00 UK/ 13:00 CET
Venue: Emirates Stadium (London).
The Emirates faithful were calling for Arsene Wenger’s head early in the season this year as they lost two of their opening three Premier League matches, but since then they have improved significantly and find themselves in a good position on all fronts.
Midweek saw them beat BATE 4-2 away from home in their Europa League group stage match, following on from their comfortable 2-0 win over West Brom on Monday, to make it six games without defeat. Their only failure to win came in a goalless draw away to Chelsea, so things are looking a lot brighter for The Gunners.
Arsenal’s main improvement has been at the back, where they have managed three consecutive clean sheets since their 4-0 drubbing at Liverpool, and they will feel fairly confident of getting another one at home to a Brighton side who are missing their main striker, Tomer Hemed, through a recently imposed suspension for violent conduct.
Brighton knew that this would be a difficult season, but so far they are managing to hold their own a bit and at the moment sit three points clear of the relegation zone up in 13th position. Whether they can continue that trend is another question entirely though.
Last weekend they picked up a very useful 1-0 win at home to Newcastle to make it three wins, one draw, and four defeats in all competitions this season. Away from home they remain without a win though, and they’ve managed just one goal in their four matches on the road.
In all honesty, with their current lack of scoring ability on their travels and the absence of Hemed, we can’t see The Seagulls getting a goal here, and considering Arsenal have won five of their six historic hostings of Brighton and conceded just once in the process, backing Arsenal Win to Nil looks a good choice here.
We also like the look of an Arsenal -1 Handicap Win at 4/6. The hosts have won six of their last eight home games in the Premier League by more than a single goal margin, so we’re going for that alongside a 2-0 correct score predictions at 11/2.
It’s hard to ignore the impact of Alexandre Lacazette as well. The newly signed French striker has found the net in all three of his league appearances at The Emirates and looks very settled at his new home, so backing him to find the net at 8/11 looks a good choice.
Arsenal vs Brighton: Head-to-head
The two recent meetings between the two sides have all come in the FA Cup, in 2013 and 2015. Arsenal won both fixtures by the same 3-2 margin and each of the fixtures were played at Brighton’s home ground.
Arsenal vs Brighton: Prediction
Brighton are about to face their first stern test in Premier League. They did have some time to prepare for this game, but their recent results show that they are bound to struggle at large at the Emirates.
