Brighton vs. Arsenal: Can the Gunners fight fatigue to maintain 5-point lead in EPL?
by Devesh Jaganath | by Devesh Jaganath
Concerns loom for Gunners amid growing fixture congestion
Arsenal bounced back from a couple of costly draws against Brentford and Wolves with back-to-back London Derby victories against Tottenham Hotspur (4-1) and Chelsea (2-1) to maintain their five-point advantage in league standings and confirm our Premier League predictions.
However, barring the victory against Spurs, what was concerning for Gooners in the other three games is that several of their team's players look absolutely shattered - something that was extremely evident in the closing stages against the Blues at the weekend.
As discussed in our Brighton vs. Arsenal prediction, several of Mikel Arteta’s men are doubts for this match, including their influential midfielder Declan Rice, who asked to be substituted in the second half of the match against Chelsea and needed to be assessed by the medical team thereafter.
Additionally, skipper Martin Odegaard and Kai Havertz also have question marks over their availability, while Mikel Merino and Ben White are ruled out entirely. There were also concerns around David Raya’s fitness, but Arteta confirmed the shot-stopper is “good to go” in his pre-match press conference.
To put into context the demanding nature of the North Londoners’ schedule of late, tonight's game will be the Gunners' eighth match in the space of 30 days - that is an average of a game less than every four days spanning the last month across all competitions.
Unfortunately for the league leaders, it doesn’t get any easier from here, as they have a three-day turnaround to their FA Cup fifth round tie against Mansfield before facing Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League four days later, and Man City in the EFL Cup final five days after that.
Adding to the task at hand for Arsenal is the fact that the Seagulls are coming into this match following consecutive wins over Brentford and Forest. On the positive, though, the Gunners are unbeaten in their last five league games against this opponent and have not lost at this venue since June 2020.
Player focus: Gabriel Magalhaes and Arsenal’s threat from set-pieces
A significant part of Arsenal’s title push can be attributed to their prowess from set-pieces. This season, the Gunners have scored 22 Premier League goals from dead-ball situations, three more than any other team in the division, and the joint-most in a single EPL campaign.
Nicolas Jover’s impact at the Emirates has been truly immense, and the Frenchman is now widely considered the best set-piece coach in the world. Arsenal’s 22 goals from set-pieces (16 from corners) account for a whopping 38% of their tally in the top flight so far this term.
Last week, the league leaders netted both goals against Chelsea from dead-ball situations. Jurrien Timber got the winning goal in the 66th minute of that match, marking the ninth time this season that Arsenal have scored a match-winning goal from a corner.
The Gunners’ main weapon from corners and free kicks is Gabriel Magalhaes, who was key to their opening goal against Liam Rosenior’s side last week, as he produced a towering header at the back post to set up his defensive partner William Saliba for the simplest of finishes.
Since arriving in North London, the Brazilian international has been directly involved in 25 Premier League goals (20 goals, 5 assists), and with last week’s assist, he now holds the record for the most EPL goal contributions by an Arsenal centre-back, surpassing Laurent Koscielny’s 24.
Given Arsenal’s demanding fixture schedule and the fact that many of their players have already shown signs of fatigue, set-pieces could once again prove to be a key to their success tonight. However, it is worth noting that Brighton have only conceded five times from dead-ball situations - the joint-fewest in the Premier League this term.
