Brighton v Arsenal predictions: Gunners may have turned a corner

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for Brighton v Arsenal in the Premier League on Saturday.

Where to watch

Sky Sports Premier League & Main Event, 5.30pm Saturday

Best bet

Arsenal
2pts 6-4 Betfair & Betfred

Team news

Brighton
Steven Alzate has joined Enoch Mwepu and Adam Webster on the sidelines and Danny Welback and Yves Bissouma are injury doubts.

Arsenal
Granit Xhaka faces an estimated three months on the sidelines

Match preview

Arsenal have wiped away memories of their miserable start to the season with three successive victories and their revival can continue with a victory over Brighton at the Amex.

Gunners fans were thrilled by last Sunday's convincing 3-1 triumph over Tottenham but Mikel Arteta needs longer-term success to get the remaining doubters onside.

It may be asking a lot for Arsenal to crack the top four, but that has to be the aim for a club who topped the spending charts this summer with a £142million outlay on six new signings, including the £50m capture of central defender Ben White from Brighton.

White failed to impress on his debut in a 2-0 loss at Brentford but has looked more assured in the recent Gunners revival and returns to his former club in a positive frame of mind.

Brighton have moved on impressively from White's departure and their 13-point tally is eight more than they had mustered at the same stage of last season.

Graham Potter's side seem to be doing a better job of converting good performances into points although their early-season schedule has been softer than most.

A more demanding October includes matches at home to Manchester City and away to Liverpool and it may not be until the end of the month that a more reasonable assessment can be made of Brighton's prospects.

Their chances against Arsenal could depend heavily on the fitness of Yves Bissouma, who is battling a knee injury sustained in last month's 2-1 success at home to Leicester.

The athletic Malian is one of the best midfielders of his type in the Premier League and his combative qualities were missed when the Seagulls scraped a 1-1 draw at Crystal Palace on Monday.

The point at Selhurst Park came at a cost with Danny Welbeck and Steven Alzate having to be withdrawn due to injuries and a patched-up Seagulls side may struggle to cope with an Arsenal team eager to stay on the winning trail.

Arsenal played with lots of quality and intensity in last weekend's north London derby when they backed up some high quality approach play with a ruthless streak in front of goal.

Only time will tell if the Londoners are capable of reaching those high standards for an extended period but for now they are a confident side and look overpriced to make it four wins on the spin.

Key stat

Arsenal have won seven of their last ten away fixtures.

Inside info

Brighton

Penalty taker Neal Maupay
Free-kick wizard Leandro Trossard
Set-piece aerial threat Lewis Dunk
Card magnet Yves Bissouma

Arsenal

Penalty taker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
Free-kick wizardMartin Odegaard
Set-piece aerial threatGabriel Magalhaes
Card magnetAlbert Sambi Lokonga

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