Arsenal vs Brighton preview | Confirmed team news | Expected line-ups | Prediction

Arsenal will be desperate to get back to winning ways when they welcome Brighton to the Emirates Stadium this afternoon.

The Gunners’ hopes of finishing in the top four suffered a huge blow after they fell to a heavy 3-0 defeat to Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Monday night.

That result has left Arsenal sitting fifth in the table on goal difference from Tottenham with a game in hand so Mikel Arteta’s men can regain fourth spot with a win over Brighton.

The north Londoners should be confident of picking up all three points against a struggling Brighton side. The Seagulls arrive in the capital off the back of a seven-game winless run with their last victory coming against Watford back in February.

That poor form has seen Brighton drop down to 13th in the table but they could move level on points with ninth-placed Palace with a win at the Emirates today.

Team news

Arsenal have been dealt a major blow with the news that Thomas Partey has been ruled out for several weeks. The Ghana international aggravated a thigh injury against Palace and could be facing a race against time to play again this season.

Kieran Tierney has already been ruled out for the rest of the campaign after suffering a knee injury while away with the Scotland squad during the recent international break. The full-back underwent surgery on Thursday and will now begin his rehabilitation.

Takehiro Tomiyasu is also still on the sidelines with an on-going calf injury so Arsenal will be without three key players this afternoon. However, Nicolas Pepe could return from illness which kept him out of the Palace game.

As for Brighton, they’ll be without Jakub Moder as he’s still out with a knee injury while Moises Caicedo is ruled out with illness. Adam Webster will be given a late check as he looks to return from a calf injury.

Expected line-ups

Arsenal: Ramsdale; Cedric, White, Gabriel, Tavares; Xhaka, Lokonga; Saka, Odegaard, Martinelli; Lacazette

Brighton: Sanchez; Veltman, Dunk, Cucurella; Lamptey, Bissouma, Gross, March; Mac Allister; Trossard, Maupay

Predicted score

Arsenal 2-0 Brighton: The Gunners desperately need to get back to winning ways following Monday’s disastrous result at Palace and this is a terrific opportunity for them to do just that.

Brighton are in dire form and have scored just once in their last seven games so we can see Arsenal easing to a routine victory on home soil this afternoon.