3 talking points ahead of Brighton vs Arsenal

Arsenal travel to Brighton on Saturday evening as they look to continue their winning start to 2025.

The Gunners were victorious in their last outing as they avoided a potential banana skin fixture at Brentford with a 3-1 win. Bryan Mbeumo put the Bees ahead inside 15 minutes but Gabriel Jesus continued his return to form by heading home the equaliser. An early second-half goal from Mikel Merino put Arsenal ahead before a fine finish by Gabriel Martinelli sealed the deal.

With Arsenal looking to continue their good start to the year as well as closing the gap on league leaders Liverpool, there are three key talking points ahead of their seaside clash with Brighton.

1. No Timber but a big fitness boost

Right-back Jurrien Timber will be absent from the trip to Brighton as he serves a suspension after he picked up his fifth yellow card of the season at Brentford. This will come as a big blow to Mikel Arteta, who has relied on the Dutch international since Ben White's injury.

With no senior right-back available for selection, Arteta will likely turn to Thomas Partey to take over the role against the Seagulls. While the Ghanaian can do the job at full-back, it will affect the team with his far superior position being in midfield. It will be interesting to see how he fares out of position while potentially facing up against Kaoru Mitoma.

In more positive news, Arteta confirmed in his pre-match press conference that Kai Havertz is likely to return for the game against Brighton. The German missed the win at Brentford with illness but his comeback will be very much welcomed by his manager and the Arsenal fans. He will be looking to cause similar problems for the Seagulls, having netted in the two sides' meeting earlier this season.

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