{"id":8970,"date":"2023-12-17T06:22:02","date_gmt":"2023-12-17T06:22:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=8970"},"modified":"2023-12-17T21:59:31","modified_gmt":"2023-12-17T21:59:31","slug":"gunners-seek-to-sink-feathery-flock","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=8970","title":{"rendered":"Gunners seek to sink feathery flock"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"getty embed image\" style=\"background-color:#fff;display:inline-block;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:#a7a7a7;font-size:11px;width:100%;max-width:509px;\"><div style=\"padding:0;margin:0;text-align:left;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/1388634232\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal !important;border:none;display:inline-block;\" rel=\"noopener\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div><div style=\"overflow:hidden;position:relative;height:0;padding:66.40471% 0 0 0;width:100%;\"><iframe src=\"\/\/embed.gettyimages.com\/embed\/1388634232?et=KglrdtXzR154659UHSJr_g&amp;tld=com&amp;sig=gVo1GtDt-q03hIhviDhoUv4LUz8O3WRu7vsLKJNKUFg=&amp;caption=true&amp;ver=1\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"509\" height=\"338\" style=\"display:inline-block;position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;margin:0;\"><\/iframe><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Still on the rebound from last Saturday\u2019s disappointing loss at Aston Villa, but likely less so from their Champions League draw at PSV Eindhoven on Tuesday night, on Sunday afternoon second-placed Arsenal play their 17th Premier League game of the season at home to Brighton and Hove Albion. The Gunners will be looking for revenge of sorts for last May\u2019s 0-3 loss to Brighton at the Emirates, played in the thick of Arsenal\u2019s forgettable and exhausted run-in when they dropped 15 of the last 27 points on offer after beating all contenders from August through March. Addressing the question of revenge for last year\u2019s loss in Friday\u2019s pre-match press conference, Arteta sidestepped the issue a bit saying \u201cIt was like the dream was almost over &#8211; not mathematically, but a big part of it. It was a really tough day.\u201d In all competitions Brighton have been victorious on four of their last five trips to the Emirates, which few other teams can say. This time, the game being a midseason encounter, I expect the home side to be able to turn the tables on the Seagulls but wouldn\u2019t count my eggs before they are hatched.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Expecting the Gunners to bag a gull or three before full time could call for a modicum of patience, as this southerly flock is known to be both mobile and unpredictable.&nbsp; The Gunners will have to attack them from a variety of angles, distances and velocities, and deliver some very well considered shots.&nbsp; But Brighton will not be coming North only to defend, so Arsenal\u2019s defence must its maintain its shape and focus in preparation for the unpredictable moments when the avian horde attempts to storm the parapets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Seagull Droppings<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Brighton come into the game on two days fewer rest than Arsenal after Thursday evening they defeated Marseille in a home Europa League match that allowed them to finish top of their group ahead of the French side, but their most recent Premier League game, last Saturday, was a home draw with Burnley.&nbsp;&nbsp;The Seagulls occupy eighth spot in the table, just behind Manchester United and ahead of West Ham.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After last season\u2019s sixth-place Premier League finish, their highest finish ever, Brighton may have slacked off a tad in league play so far this time around, especially defensively having scored 33 times but conceded 28, with six of those goals conceded to Aston Villa on September 30th.  Brighton have failed to keep a Premier League clean sheet since they last came to the Emirates, 20 games ago. But their less-than-spectacular form, if you can call it that, shouldn\u2019t be surprising as they have devoted so much energy to Europa League competition, including twin 2-0 home and away wins against Ajax in their first season in European football in their 122-year history.  Brighton&#8217;s league form likely has also been limited by the sale of many of their recent stalwarts, including defender Cucurella to Chelsea and midfielders Mac Allister to Liverpool, Bissouma to Tottenham, and Caicedo to Chelsea, as well as the transfers of Ben White and Leandro Trossard to Arsenal.&nbsp;&nbsp;But the club has shown an amazing ability to find younger and cheaper replacements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These are heady times for Brighton, who scaled the heights of the football pyramid since escaping relegation from the Football League in May 1997 after they were 11 points from safety six months prior, and stayed bottom of the old Division Three the entire time in-between.&nbsp;&nbsp;Roberto De Zerbi has done an amazing job after replacing Graham Potter as Brighton&#8217;s manager after many people thought Potter\u2019s departure could harken a decline for the South Coast club. The one constant in the Brighton team since the club was promoted in 2017 is central defender and captain Lewis Dunk, but judging by recent signings the club clearly has its eyes on the future.&nbsp;&nbsp;Recent additions include 22 year old midfielder Gilmour who has played in 15 league games, 21 year old winger Adingra (four goals in 15 games), 19 year old striker Ferguson (six goals scored in 15 games), and 22 year old striker Jo\u00e3o Pedro (five goals scored in 16 games).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Brighton have a handful of players out injured at the moment, including forward Enciso, wingers Fati and March, and fullbacks Estupi\u00f1\u00e1n and Lamptey, while center back Webster is an injury doubt, but ex-Gunner Danny Welbeck has been pronounced fit after eight weeks out of the squad and could make an appearance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The Man in the Middle<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tim Robinson, a Sussex-affiliated referee, will&nbsp;take charge of an Arsenal match for the third time this season. &nbsp;It&#8217;s refreshing that the PGMOL has found a referee from any place else than the north of England, but I would observe that it is a pity if not a coincidence that Arsenal\u2019s opponents on the day also happen to be Sussex-affiliated. If the VAR at Stockley Park has a thick northern accent I hope that Robinson will be able to make out what he is saying, but I digress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Arsenal XI<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Arsenal, who had already won their Champions League group, were able to rest a number of their starting team at Eindhoven in midweek, so Saka, Martinelli, Zinchenko, \u00d8degaard and Rice are all expected to return to the line-up having either been rested entirely, or used as late substitutes against PSV. Mikel Arteta, knowing that a return to winning ways in the Premier League is essential, is likely to put out this familiar team against Brighton:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Raya<br>White &#8212; Saliba &#8212; Gabriel &#8212; Zinchenko<br>\u00d8degaard &#8212; Rice &#8212; Havertz<br>Saka &#8212; Jesus &#8212; Martinelli<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The \u2018holic Pound<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I think the captain must step up in this fixture that could be pivotal to our season, and Martin is up to the task so my prediction is for \u00d8degaard to score the winning goal in a come from behind 2-1 to the Arsenal after Brighton take a first half lead. I\u2019m hoping with all my heart our path is easier than that, but starting with a more harrowing prediction helps stave off unpleasant surprises so if Brighton go up a goal early on there\u2019s no need to panic or to retreat immediately behind the couch. Enjoy the game \u2018holics, wherever you are watching, and I hope you are able to enjoy both halves but the second half in particular.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Embed from Getty Images Still on the rebound from last Saturday\u2019s disappointing loss at Aston Villa, but likely less so from their Champions League draw at PSV Eindhoven on Tuesday night, on Sunday afternoon second-placed Arsenal play their 17th Premier League game of the season at home to Brighton and Hove Albion. The Gunners will [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8970"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8970"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8970\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8980,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8970\/revisions\/8980"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8970"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8970"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8970"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}