Thursday, March 28, 2024

Prediction: Brighton vs. Arsenal

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Arsenal travel to Brighton on Sunday afternoon as they look to reach the 5th round of the FA Cup. The Gunners are the holders and will fancy themselves against Championship opposition. Here’s my prediction of how the game will pan out.

Key Men:

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Arsenal – Mesut Ozil
Ozil is set to start his first game in four months and the Arsenal fans will be hoping he can re-discover his best form. The World Cup winner is yet to play his very best football in an Arsenal shirt, and the fans know that if he does then Arsenal become a much more dangerous side.

Brighton – Joao Teixeira
On lona from Liverpool, 22 year old Teixeira scored two goals for Brighton on Wednesday night as they beat Ipswich 3-2. He a creative midfield capable of causing plenty of damage to Arsenal’s back four if they are not well protected by the defensive midfielder. Arsenal must be aware of his threat in order to ensure they don’t give the Portuguese midfielder a chance.

Likely Approach:

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Arsene Wenger is likely to field a strong team against Brighton, with the likes of Mesut Ozil and Theo Walcott coming back into the starting line up. Brighton will hope to capitalise on the duo’s lack of match fitness, but both players will be keen to impress in order to force their way back into Wenger’s plans. Wenger is likely to field a number of attacking players for this trip, with Joel Campbell also expected to start the game. You would expect Arsenal to be too much offensively for Brighton, especially with Ozil and Walcott on the field. Brighton might look to the centre of Arsenal’s defence as a point of weakness, where The Gunners are expected to rest Laurent Koscielny and replace him with the inexperienced Calum Chambers.

Prediction: Brighton 1-3 Arsenal
I think Arsene Wenger knows the FA Cup is his best chance of silverware once again this season. As he showed by starting Alexis Sanchez against Hull in the third round, he will take no opponent lightly. I expect Brighton to score but Arsenal to be too strong offensively and progress to the 5th round with relative comfort.

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