Key events
Brighton 0-1 Arsenal
Half-time: Lit up by Ethan Nwaneri’s slightly fortuitous strike on 16 minutes, an otherwise largely uneventful half draws to a close. It’s been a fairly boring contest so far with little in the way of talking points but Arsenal fans won’t care as long as their team can go on to convert their lead into three points.
45+3 min: Brighton get back on the ball but lose it again when Yasin Ayari is dispossessed in midfield. It’s half-time …
45 min: Rice runs down the right flank on to a ball over the top and wins a corner for his side. Arsenal avengers assemble at the far post, as Nwaneri goes to take it. The 17-year-old takes so long standing over the dead ball that he’s booked for timewasting. When he eventually sends the ball into the mixer, Estupinan clears it. That caution seemed a little officious, fussy and needless on the part of referee Anthony Taylor.
44 min: Brighton press forward, all huff and puff but with little in the way of end product. Adingra’s cross is far too close to David Raya, who gathers comfortably.
42 min: Saliba mops up at the back for Arsenal, controlling and clearing a through ball that Joao Pedro was trying to run on to.
39 min: Another Arsenal corner, this time from the left. In a bid to reduce congestion in the box, Brighton send three men to the halfway line, so Arsenal have to put men on them.
Declan Rice’s inswinger is headed over the bar by Gabriel Jesus. Nearer the front post, Gabriel went to ground under the close attention of Matt O’Riley as the ball came in. He wants a penalty but the match officials aren’t interested.
38 min: Nwaneri curls the dead ball wide at the near post. It’s safe to say that’s not one from the Nicolas Jover playbook.
36 min: With Rice pulling the strings, Arsenal work the ball from left to right and Nwaneri wins a corner off Estupinan.
34 min: Matt O’Riley squares the ball for Adingra, who with loads of goal to aim at from about 10 yards out, somehow manages to slice it horribly wide. That looked like a terrific chance but Adingra didn’t make proper contact with the ball. Perhaps he slipped …
34 min: Verbruggen launches the ball upfield, Joao Pedro knocks it down and Matt O’Riley shanks a shot towards the corner flag.
31 min: Brighton get the ball wide to Veltman, who plays it back inside again. It really is that exciting.
28 min: His every touch of the ball still soundtracked by a chorus of half-hearted boos, Trossard cuts in from the left and curls a great ball towards the far post. It’s cleared.
26 min: Now Jorginho tries to pick out Gabriel Jesus with a ball over the top. It’s controlled and cleared by Igor Julio.
25 min: Baleba plays a ball over the top from deep for Adingra to chase but puts far too much welly on his pass. David Raya collects unopposed and at his leisure.
23 min: Looking at a replay of Arsenal’s opener, it’s fair to say Bart Verbruggen should definitely have done better in the Brighton goal. Channeling his inner hologram, he somehow let the ball pass through him when it seems he should have saved fairly comfortably. Jean Paul van Hecke could have done more too, as he allowed Nwaneri to bear down on goal unchallenged.
21 min: Adingra stands the ball up for Gruder at the far post. His downward header is grabbed by David Raya before Matt O’Riley can get to the ball. The Dane clatters into the goalkeeper as a consolation, leaving him winded, flat on his back and in need of treatment.
19 min: A Merino miskick inside his own penalty area and the ball drops for Simon Adingra. Off balance and almost certainly not expecting the ball to break his way, he shoots high and wide.
18 min: That shot of Nwaneri’s seemed to go through Bart Verbruggen, who almost certainly should have done better.
GOAL! brighton 0-1 Arsenal (Nwaneri 16)
I spoke too soon. On the back of good build-up play from Mikel Merino, Ethan Nwaneri cuts in from the right, beating Estupinan with ease, before shooting across the bows of Verbruggen and into the far corner.
15 min: It’s been an incredibly cagey opening 15 minutes ofthis game that won’t live long in the memory of anyone who saw it. Or played in it. Neither goal has come under the slightest threat thus far.
14 min: A low Nwaneri delivery into the Brighton box is hoofed clear by Van Hecke.
13 min: Each time the ball finds its way back to the feet of Verbruggen, he stands over it for what seems like an eternity, trying to tempt Gabriel Jesus forward so he can take him out of the game with a quick pass out. The Arsenal striker isn’t having it.
12 min: Matt O’Riley’s corner is cleared as far as Nwaneri, who tries to break upfield on a counter-attack. He runs into Pervis Estupinan and loses the ball.
12 min: Brajan Gruda plays the ball wide to Joel Veltman, who wins a corner off Ricardo Calafiori.
9 min: Bart Verbruggen denies Gabriel Jesus after the Brazilian striker had been played in behind Jean Paul van Hecke by Jorginho. Offside but Jesus didn’t need to be and shouldn’t have been.
8 min: Now it’s Arsenal’s turn to try to build from the back as nothing much of note continues to happen in these opening 10 minutes.
7 min: Nwaneri tries to cut inside from the right flank but runs into a stout wall of resistance in the form of Igor and goes to ground.
5 min: With Thomas Tuchel present, I’m not saying there’s additional pressure on Declan Rice and Ethan Nwaneri, but they are the only two Englishmen on the pitch. Does the German actually want to be at this match, or is he just here to be seen being at this match?
4 min: Brighton try to build from the back again, taking their time as they try to draw various Arsenal players out of position. It’s been a slow start as both teams try to find their feet.
3 min: Joel Veltman is tripped as he tries to turn and clear the ball by the touchline deep in his own half. He wins a free-kick.
2 min: Bart Verbruggen gets an early touch and passes the ball wide to Igor, who loses it. Leandro Trossard gets on the ball and is booed by the fans of his former team.
Brighton v Arsenal is go …
1 min: Arsenal get the ball rolling, their players wearing their Lynx Africa away kit of black shirts, shorts and socks with white trim and green and red epaulettes and badges.
Not long now: In the absence of Lewis Dunk, who is out with a calf injury, Joao Pedro leads Brighton out, while Jorginho wears the captain’s armband for Arsenal. In the stands, the new England manager Thomas Tuchel is present, having watched most of Tottenham’s match against Newcastle in London earlier this afternoon. Kick-off at the Amex Stadium is just a couple of minutes away.
Big Interview: Paul Barber Brighton’s chief executive on his mission to help youngsters and why the club are stronger after Chelsea’s raids. Words: Ed Aarons.
Martin Odegaard: Mikel Arteta has confirmed that his captain is on the bench this evening because he has been feeling poorly. Kai Havertz is also absent from the second matchday squad in a row due to that illness which seems to be doing the rounds of various top flight dressing-rooms.
Mikel Arteta: “It’s about supporting our players,” said the Arsenal manager when he was asked how he and his staff had helped Gabriel Jesus find his scoring boots after a long barren spell. “The players know they have to go through some periods sometimes which is not how they planned.
“As well, they have to believe in themselves and we have to make sure that if one day they doubt, we are there to recognise and make sure they feel from our side how much we like them and how happy we are to have them.”
Fabian Hurzeler: “Things happen for different reasons,” said Brighton’s German manager of his team’s seven-game winless run. “The experience gives you orientation in how to behave in these situations and how to come back to the results. In the end, there are some patterns you can adjust. Despite the bad results, we have had some really good performances. Always trust the process. We are on the right way.”
Today’s match officials
Referee: Anthony Taylor.
Assistants: Gary Beswick and Adam Nunn.
Fourth official: Sam Barrott.
VAR: Darren England.
Assistant VAR: Akil Howson.
Those teams: Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Martinelli are surprise omissions from the Arsenal starting line-up, with Mikel Arteta bringing in Jorginho and former Brighton player Leandro Trossard to replace them as they drop to the bench. Declan Rice comes in for Jurrien Timber, who is suspended, which means we can expect to see Thomas Partey starting at right-back. Kai Havertz is not in the matchday squad.
Fabian Hurzeler makes three changes to the side that drew with Aston Villa last time out. Pervis Estupinan starts in place of Lewis Dunk, who is not in the matchday squad. The Ecuadorian will start at left-back, with Igor Julio moving inside to centre-back. Elsewhere in the Brighton back four, Joel Veltman comes in for Tariq Lamptey, while Matt O’Riley replaces Julio Enciso in midfield.
Brighton v Arsenal line-ups
Brighton: Verbruggen; Veltman, Van Hecke, Igor, Estupinan; Baleba, Ayari, O’Riley; Adingra, Pedro, Gruda
Subs: Steele, Lamptey, Webster, March, Enciso, Georginio, Minteh, Moder, Mitoma
Arsenal: Raya; Partey, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori; Rice, Jorginho, Merino; Nwaneri, Jesus, Trossard
Subs: Neto, Zinchenko, Tierney, Kiwior, Lewis-Skelly, Odegaard, Martinelli, Butler-Oyedeji, Kabia
Early team news
Arsenal right-back Jurrien Timber sits this one out through suspension, and with both Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu sidelined with knee injuries, Thomas Partey seems likely to deputise. One of Declan Rice or Kai Havertz is likely to come back into the side after missing Arsenal’s win over Brentford. Bukayo Saka remains out with a thigh injury, while the lesser-spotted Raheem Sterling is also unavailable through injury.
For Brighton, Ferdi Kadioglu, James Milner, Danny Welbeck, Evan Ferguson, Mats Wieffer and Jack Hinshelwood all remain out, but Adam Webster has been passed fir after recovering from a thigh injury and Pervis Estupinan could return after missing his side’s last game through illness.
Premier League: Brighton v Arsenal
Without a win in seven games, five of which they’ve drawn, Brighton could do with a statement home win over Arsenal to electro-shock their season back into life before it flatlines.
“Despite the bad results, we have had some really good performances,” said their manager Fabian Hurzeler, who will need his players to front up today if they are to get a good result against today’s visitors, who can close the gap to Liverpool (who have played one game fewer) to three points with a win until tomorrow at least.
Arsenal arrive in Falmer for this evening’s game on the back of three conecutive league wins but anything less than a fourth will be viewed as a poor result, despite the undeniable quality of their opposition. Kick-off at the Amex Stadium is at 5.30pm (GMT) but we’ll have team news and build-up in the meantime.
