Arsenal vs Brighton: 3 tactics to beat Graham Potter’s side

Coming off a superb 3-1 victory over Tottenham last time out, Arsenal travel to Brighton to face Graham Potter’s high-flying Seagulls next in the Premier League.

Coming off a 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace in which they needed a late goal from Neal Maupay in the 95th minute to snatch a point, Brighton are full of confidence. Despite that draw, the Seagulls have started the season flying and are sitting sixth in the league, winning four of its six games, scoring eight goals.

For Arsenal, the news of Granit Xhaka’s long injury lay-off took some of the shine off their North London Derby win but the Gunners come into this one on the back of four consecutive wins and an aura of confidence has surrounded the club.

A win for Mikel Arteta’s side would remarkably bring the Gunners within two points of leaders Liverpool who face Manchester City on Sunday night.

3 key areas of Brighton to look at for Arsenal and Mikel Arteta if they are to beat Graham Potter’s side in the Premier League on Saturday

But that isn’t where the focus should lie. It’s too soon to be keeping a glance at the table as continuing this run and ‘taking one game at a time’ is what Arteta will be telling his team who can head into the upcoming international break with a vastly differing outlook from the previous set of World Cup qualifiers.

While no easy game, Brighton is one of a set of fixtures coming up where the Gunners can begin making up for their early season failures. Potter’s side are in good form, but so are Arsenal. That confidence must be channeled into another positive performance.

So, how does Arsenal secure a fifth consecutive win away to Brighton? There are three key areas to look at.

1. Keep Arch Nemesis Neal Maupay in Check

Nearly all Arsenal fans still hold a grudge against the Brighton frontman after his ‘bump’ on Bernd Leno back in June of 2020 as the German shot-stopper was collecting a long ball played in for Maupay. It was a clear foul, one that in some intriguing butterfly effect might have resulted in the club signing Aaron Ramsdale, but that is a discussion for another day.

Brighton’s No. 9 has been in fine form so far this season, scoring four goals in six games as his efforts have led the Seagulls into the sixth position in the Premier League.

Fresh off a last-minute equalizer against Crystal Palace, the French striker will be looking to add to his tally against the Gunners, which currently stands at two.

The job of stopping Maupay will fall to Arsenal’s back four as a whole. Gabriel, Ben White, Takehiro Tomiyasu, and Kieran Tierney will all be tasked with trying to curtail Maupay as he has shown this season that his movement is clever, direct and coupled with relentless running.

Furthermore, everyone will be aware of his mind games. Maupay is the guy who doesn’t skip the replays on FIFA. Looking for someone to rile up, Gabriel and possibly even former teammate White will be on the agenda. He is their danger man this season.

The two centre-backs in particular will need to be on top of their game as they have been over the past few weeks, with communication vital at what will be a raucous AMEX Stadium. Previous fixtures have turned this one into a sort of mini-rivalry.