It's all about momentum

 

It's been a funny old week supporting Arsenal. We've gone from being told that wins against "Norwich and Burnley meant nothing, it's all about beating Tottenham" to "Yeah but it's only Tottenham, they're awful" after we rolled them over in convincing fashion. This kind of contradiction is kind of expected from the media, who seem at pains to give us any credit. But when you see it from other supposed Arsenal fans, it's a little harder to comprehend. If you can't enjoy beating the lot from down the road, then you should probably give up watching football.

But I digress. This week we travel to Brighton to face a side who have enjoyed a decent start to the season. In fact, if they had beaten Patrick Vieira's Crystal Palace (I think that's their name now. Kind of like when it was "Frank Lampard's Derby. Or Frank Lampard's Chelsea) they would have been sitting pretty at the top of the table ahead of tonight's game. As it was, they could only take a point form the invincible and his men, but still sit 4 points ahead of the visit of Gunners on a very respectable 13 points.

As impressive as the start has been on paper however, a dig a little below the surface shows that  with all due respect to their opponents, Brighton haven't really played anybody yet this season. They've picked up wins against Burnley, Watford and a struggling Leicester. They also went to Brentford and came away with a hard fought 1-0 win. A result which to be fair looks more impressive with each passing week. There was Monday night's draw at palace and a home defeat to Everton, probably the toughest opposition that they have faced.

You would expect then that the game tonight should provide a step up in difficulty for Brighton. Regardless of the opposition, Arsenal are certainly riding a wave of momentum right now, coming off of 4 straight wins in all competitions. The key now is to take that momentum, get another three points on the board, and sit on the coattails of the top 4 heading in to the international break and ahead of another favourable run of fixtures in October and in to early November.

There will certainly be an amount of frustration for Mikel Arteta going in to this one however. Few would argue that Arsenal put in their best performance of the season last week, and in an ideal world we would like to have stuck with the same 1 that put Sp*rs to the sword. Unfortunately, an injury to Granit Xhaka has put paid to that, with the Swiss now out until January following an unfortunate injury caused by an accidental clash with Lucas Moura. Whatever you think about Xhaka, and there are opinions all across the spectrum, Arteta clearly sees him as integral to how he wants us to play, so his absence isa blow.  

But as one door closes another opens, and there is a space in the starting  that needs to be filled. The choice seemingly is between Pepe, who made way for Xhaka last week, and Sambi Lokonga, the man who replaced him and has started the season so impressively.

For me, it makes sense to keep the shape the same as much as possible, and that means the young Belgian should get the nod. As much as I like the idea of Pepe coming in and adding an extra attacking dimension to the line up, the midfield battle will again be key today, particularly if Brighton powerhouse Yves Bissouma is fit. Sambi therefore would get the nod to partner Partey in my opinion. Should Pepe be the starter, we would likely see Martin Odegaard drop a bit deeper. Although his effort could not be criticised, I think he lacks the physicality to stand up to the Bissouma test. Of course, if the Mali international does not make the Brighton 11, that all goes out the window. Unfortunately, we are unlikely to know until the line ups come out.  

My preferred 11 v Brighton

Other than Lokonga for Xhaka, I don't think there is any need to change the 11. This is a team who is building momentum, so to tinker too much could disrupt that. I appreciate that there are players that need game time, such as Martinelli and Lacazette, but the old adage goes that you don't change a winning team. Hopefully we can get in to a position today where we can rotate a little and get minutes in to the legs of those who need it.

Other than potentially missing Bissouma, Brighton will be without Danny Welbeck. Danny was a player who I liked during his time at Arsenal, even if the goal output isn't what we would have liked. His work rate could never be faulted though, and that is why I am glad he will be missing today. Not having to worry about his runs stretching the defence is a huge boost.

There is also the Neal Maupay factor. Having ended Bernd Leno's season a couple of years ago with a snidey foul, he's popped up with a couple of crucial goals against us. He's one of those guys who just has a face you want to slap. Hopefully we can put him back in his place his evening. It would be even sweeter if it was former Brighton boy Ben White who was the one to do it.

It's another big game for us today. Aren't they all at the moment? I'm sure the away fans will again be in fantastic voice, so lets hope that the boys can give them something to cheer about, with another performance full of energy and hopefully goals. COYG!