Arsenal are on a high at the moment winning their last four games and they will now make the trip south to face Brighton and Hove Albion, so let’s take a look at the team news.
The Gunners current form is a big change compared to August when everything seemed to be going backwards. The crowning glory of September was the north London derby win over Tottenham.
The only player that is going to miss out on this trip is Swiss midfielder Granit Xhaka. The 29-year-old suffered an injury when Spurs’ Lucas fell onto his knee. That resulted in damages to his ligaments.
As a result of this, the midfielder is expected to be out of action for around three months and that is a huge blow for the Emirates club. But on the other hand, apart from Xhaka, manager Mikel Arteta has a fully fit squad to choose from.
Arsenal Fever View:
The loss of Xhaka for such an extended period of time is something that the club would not have ever wanted to see. The reason for this is his importance to the team’s setup. As we saw last Sunday, the Swiss maestro had a crucial role to play in the first two goals.
In particular, it was during the second goal where his tactical awareness came to the fore as he shielded the ball and expertly launched an attack. The partnership between the former Borussia Monchengladbach man and Thomas Partey is the best that the Gunners can put out at the moment.
Now, Arteta will have to find a way to cope with his absence and that could see Mohamed Elneny return to the team. As we saw at Old Trafford last season, the Egyptian does form a good partnership with Partey but Elneny cannot offer as much as the man he will be replacing.
Arsenal must ensure that they do not let go of the momentum they have built up this month and should look for their fifth consecutive win. It will not be easy against Brighton who themselves have had a great start to the season.
Read More: Arsenal fans react as Granit Xhaka suffers injury blow
