Kick-off: 1730, 31/12/2022
Stadium: Amex Stadium
TV: Sky Sports
Arsenal are taken to further enhance their Premier League title aspirations with a hard-fought victory over Brighton at Amex Stadium.
Albion will provide the pacesetters with a solid test but do tend to come up just short when taking on the top teams.
Punters can get 11/10 for the Gunners to prevail and that is good enough to be our first Brighton vs Arsenal prediction.
Brighton Odds
Brighton bounced back from losing on penalties at League One Charlton in the EFL Cup with a convincing 3-1 victory at Southampton.
Poor goalkeeping from Gavin Bazunu allowed Adam Lallana to grab a soft opener against his former club.
Romain Perraud’s own goal put Albion in a comfortable position at the break and Solly March’s long-range stunner tightened their grip on the contest.
Despite James Ward-Prowse grabbing a consolation goal for Saints, Roberto De Zerbi hailed it as the best display of his tenure.
“For the quality of play, the strategy of game, it was a fantastic day,” said the Italian.
“For me, the most important thing is not the result, it’s how much my players follow me.
“I’m very happy. We played probably the best game with me as a coach. We are improving.”
The Seagulls did stun Arsenal with a 3-1 away win in the EFL Cup last month but will face a different line-up here.
Since upsetting Manchester United at the start of the season, Albion’s record against top-six sides in the league is DDLL.
Looking at the Brighton vs Arsenal odds, we reckon 11/4 for an away win and both teams to score takes the eye.
Last Brighton line-up: Sanchez, Dunk, Samuels Colwill, Estupinan, Veltman, March, Gross, Lallana, Mitoma, Caicedo, Trossard.
Brighton will be without the suspended Moises Caicedo after he picked up his fifth booking of the season in the win over Southampton. De Zerbi also confirmed the absence of injured duo Adam Webster and Danny Welbeck.
Arsenal Odds
Arsenal took a five-point lead into the World Cup break and returned to action with a 3-1 success versus West Ham.
The Hammers secured a half-time advantage against the run of play thanks to a Said Benrahma penalty.
However, showing plenty of self-belief, the Gunners hit back through Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Eddie Nketiah.
Reflecting on whether his team can stay at the summit, Mikel Arteta said: “What I tell them is that we have to focus on us.
“We cannot control what the opponents are going to do, how good they are going to become, or how many points they are going to earn or drop.”
The Spaniard added: “Boxing Day is a beautiful day to play football and I thought the performance was at the level that we deserve.”
Crucially, Arsenal have consistently shown they can come through tricky situations, with five of their last 10 league wins being by one goal.
They are 14/5 to oblige by the narrowest of margins at Amex Stadium, while 31/4 for a 2-1 scoreline completes our Brighton vs Arsenal betting tips.
Last Arsenal line-up: Ramsdale, Tierney, White, Gabriel, Saliba, Partey, Odegaard, Xhaka, Saka, Martinelli, Nketiah.
Arsenal will welcome back defender Takehiro Tomiyasu, who was plagued with injuries to start the season and missed out on their return to Premier League action. Emile Smith Rowe (groin) remains out of the squad but is making good progress in his recovery.
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