Arsenal vs Brighton predicted XI: Don’t expect anything major

Fullbacks

As mentioned, one of the big questions going into this match is if Hector Bellerin will be ready for selection. That said, given how few changes Freddie made against Norwich, I don’t get the sense that he is going to make any drastic decisions, and that includes selecting a player whose health is suspect. Maybe he’ll be available on the bench, but starting is a big ask.

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Which leaves the spot to Calum Chambers, seeing as how Ainsley Maitland-Niles apparently doesn’t exist anymore. Chambers has fallen under scrutiny lately, but it’s not for good cause, and we should have full confidence in his ability here.

After starting two matches in a week, Kieran Tierney was sat against Norwich in favor of Sead Kolasinac who, on an individual level, was pretty stellar in an otherwise paltry match. Kolasinac reopened a conversation that had been long-thought dead and while it will be interesting to see how that effects the team moving forward, for this one, expect Tierney to get his spot back after having a week off to recuperate.

Tierney is still the preferred leftback, even if no one has outright said it, and it’s his job to lose. He has done nothing to lose the job.

With that, let’s move on to the centerbacks.