JAKARTA - The leader of the English League standings, Arsenal, who just won a penalty shootout against Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup (Carabao Cup) quarterfinal, will host Brighton & Hove Albion at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday, December 27, 2025.
With Manchester City playing just hours before the game, Arsenal's slim two-point lead could have been lost before they took to the field.
Mikel Arteta's side are on a busy schedule in December 2025 and will play the sixth of eight games this month this weekend.
The holiday season has tested the depth of Arsenal's squad, with Arsenal potentially missing seven players for the game against Brighton.
The situation is not less shaky, in fact, Brighton also experienced it. Fabian Hurzeler will indeed welcome the return of five main players for this match, but he is also confirmed to lose four players, which resulted in a string of four matches without a win.
The match against Brighton will be used by Arteta to answer the finishing problem. Although winning the last three matches, Arsenal has not scored a single goal from open play. In fact, they produced 5.89 goal expectations.
Three of the last four goals scored by Arsenal came from own goals. Another goal was made by Viktor Gyokeres, that was also from the penalty spot.
In some ways, this is still good news for Arsenal given Arsenal's expected goals in those three games were just 1.49.
The Gunners are still producing performances that could win games. However, the margin in the English League is very tight.
The under-par goal-scoring form could return to haunt Arsenal. Arteta needs his attackers to be much more efficient as Brighton have the attacking firepower to deliver a late twist, as Crystal Palace did in injury time in the Carabao Cup.
Arteta is starting to have a lot of options now in the heart of the front line with the presence of Gabriel Jesus and Viktor Gyokeres.
Jesus put in a scintillating performance for Arsenal against Crystal Palace. Collaborating beautifully with Gabriel Martinelli and Myles Lewis-Skelly as he swapped positions on the left flank, the Gunners' slick attacking play was mesmerising.
This is reminiscent of Arsenal's first title challenge under Arteta in the 2022/2023 season, when Jesus became the backbone of Arsenal's surprise attack and tortured the opponent's defense.
At the same time, Jesus' tendency to be on the end of the pitch and often fail to capitalise on the many opportunities that fall to his feet, further confirms why critics have always stressed the need for Arsenal to bring in a lethal striker to help them win the title.
Gyokeres should have been the answer, but it was ironic how just three days after scoring the penalty that boosted his confidence, Arteta chose not to include him against Crystal Palace.
In fact, when Arsenal were chasing the winning goal in the final minutes or for the penalty shootout that eventually happened, the Spanish coach also did not bring Gyokeres.
The manager's lack of faith in the Swedish ace may also extend to his team-mates, who have appeared to shy away from backing Gyokeres' moves this season.
Actually, Arteta still has another name, namely Kai Havertz. The German player has returned to training. Arsenal is currently much more suited to his qualities.
Gyokeres and Jesus may find their playing time reduced after Havertz finds his sharpness. Only, the German player does not seem to be going down anytime soon.
Against Brighton, it's likely that Gyokeres will lead Arsenal's front line. That will probably cause more problems for Arsenal than a solution.
It's interesting to see whether Gyokeres can prove himself or not to be the final solution for Arsenal. If not, Brighton could be the punishment for giving the Gunners their third league defeat.
Even though the ranking is quite far apart, Fabian Hurzeler's team has a record of meetings that is not too bad against Arsenal.
Hurzeler has not beaten Arteta in three attempts. Brighton lost 0-2 in the Carabao Cup earlier this season, but the other two meetings ended in a draw with the same score of 1-1.
Forecast Formation
Arsenal: David Raya; Timber, Hincapie, Saliba, Calafiori; Rice, Zubimendi, Odegaard; Trossard, Gyokeres, Saka
Brighton: Verbruggen; Wieffer, Coppola, Boscagli, Kadioglu; Ayari, Hinshelwood; Minteh, Gruda, De Cuyper; Rutter
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