Arsenal – Brighton

The visitors will again lose to Arsenal in London this season.

In the latest off-season, London's Arsenal carried out such a transfer campaign that no one in the English football public held back from praising it. The opening matches of the season proved its justification, as the Gunners began showing such mature and confident football that they earned the status of favourites not only in the Premier League. Against the backdrop of weak results from Barcelona and Real Madrid, as well as signs of a second-season crisis in Paris, Arteta's team was regarded as the most likely contenders for the Champions League triumph. The last weeks have seen Arsenal go through a dip in form, but it's still too early to talk about a crisis in the London club. At least, Manchester City revealed the true meaning of the word crisis last season, and Liverpool is revealing it this season. Therefore, the Brighton players should not expect even the slightest disorganization in Mikel Arteta's setup. Moreover, the visiting team is also going through not the best stretch of the season. Having proven themselves in recent seasons as a bogey for top clubs, Brighton have been systematically losing to them in recent weeks. Bookmakers have made the home side the favourites for the upcoming match, offering odds of 1.40 on their victory. Arsenal on Boxing Day last year performed better than anyone in the English Premier League, collecting ten points from twelve available in four games. Arteta knows exactly how to allocate resources under a tight schedule. In the middle of the week, Arsenal played the English League Cup quarterfinal against Crystal Palace, giving the regulars 30 to 60 minutes of playing time. The Spaniard's priority is clearly the league matches. Brighton will visit the Emirates for the second time this season. The first encounter took place within the League Cup and resulted in the Seagulls' defeat to a largely youth Arsenal side. Brighton have not won any of their four official matches in December. The team lost to Aston Villa and Liverpool, and drew with West Ham United and Sunderland. Most likely, under these conditions, Brighton will not be able to challenge the Premier League leader.