Arsenal’s predicted lineup to face Brighton: Zinchenko benched again?

Arsenal face a trip to Brighton for a tough Premier League fixture.

Arsenal will travel down to the South Coast to face Brighton and Hove Albion on New Years Eve. It’s a tough fixture for the Gunners, as Brighton have been in exceptional form this season, currently sitting in 7th – they won’t be beaten easily.

To maximise his chances, Mikel Arteta should field this lineup…

Arsenal’s predicted lineup – Goalkeeper and Defence

I don’t think there’s any doubting that Aaron Ramsdale will be the first name on the team sheet, as he has been for every Premier League game this season.

He will cover a centre back pairing of William Saliba and Gabriel. Saliba gave away a penalty against West Ham but Arteta will put this down to post World cup rust and he will be given the nod. On the right-hand side, Ben White, who was one of the best players on the pitch against West Ham, will start once more.

The main confusion of the lineup will be the decision between Kieran Tierney and Oleksandr Zinchenko on that left-hand side. I think Mikel Arteta will opt for Tierney in this match, as he is better against the attacking sides. Zinchenko was handy when coming off the bench against West Ham but I think he will play a similar role in this one.

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Midfield

Perfect, perfect, perfect. That is how I would describe Arsenal’s midfield three against West Ham and indeed, most matches this season.

Thomas Partey as a defensive midfielder, Granit Xhaka as box-to-box and captain Martin Odegaard who was man of the match in Arsenal’s last match will be the midfield trio of choice.

Attack

To complete an unchanged Arsenal lineup, it will be an unchanged attack. And rightly so, with all three players getting goals in the last match.

Eddie Nketiah will lead the line and hope to continue his goal-scoring form. Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli will always, ALWAYS perform well.

What is your score prediction for this match?