Gabriel Jesus back from injury with Mikel Merino decision made”, Arsenal predicted line-up vs. Brighton: two big changes made with £55m man set to miss out

Gabriel Jesus is back from injury, and Mikel Merino’s choice has been made. This is how Arsenal had planned to line up against Brighton: two big changes were made, and a £55 million player will not play.

Arsenal and Brighton & Hove Albion will play for first place in the Premier League table at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday morning. Both teams have won all of their games so far.

Last weekend, the Gunners beat Aston Villa 2-0 in the West Midlands, ending their bad luck against them. Meanwhile, Brighton beat Manchester United 2-1, which was a huge upset.

Since taking over at Arsenal in 2019, Unai Emery has made it a habit to get back at his former team. For example, he beat Arsenal in the 2020–21 Europa League semi-finals with Villarreal and led Aston Villa to two Premier League titles last season.

But the Spaniard’s desire to get back at the people who fired him stopped last weekend, when Leandro Trossard’s precise finish and Thomas Partey’s usual 20-yard goal (with a little help from Emiliano Martinez) led the Gunners to a win that lifted their spirits.

Even though Trossard and Partey’s goals were important, the moment that may have decided the game was when Ollie Watkins’ close-range header was saved by David Raya in the Arsenal box. It will be remembered as one of the best saves ever seen in the Premier League.

Because of important plays at both ends of the field, Arsenal is one of only four teams in the 2024–25 Premier League season to have six points from six games. The other three are Brighton, Liverpool, and Manchester City, who will all play Arsenal in the next round.

The Gunners have won their last eight Premier League games. If Arteta leads them to another win on Saturday, it will be the first time in 20 years that Arsenal has won nine straight Premier League games since the Invincibles did it in 2003-04.

A lot of praise has been given to Arteta for how well he has done as a young boss, but this weekend, his opponent, Fabian Hurzeler, who joined Arsenal’s playing ranks when he was only 18, is making a lot of noise on the South Coast.

After easily beating Everton by three goals, Brighton survived the wet and windy conditions on the South Coast to beat Erik ten Hag’s Man United at the Amex. Former Red Devils Danny Welbeck and Joao Pedro made Amad Diallo’s goal pointless.

The Seagulls still had to survive a scare when an offside Joshua Zirkzee helped Alejandro Garnacho’s effort go in. But the visitors deserved their second win in a competitive game under Hurzeler, who also managed a 4-0 EFL Cup win over Crawley Town last week.

After a perfect season under Hurzeler, Brighton is happy to show it off. Now, the 31-year-old wants to break the capital curse that plagued the Seagulls last year, when they lost all seven of their top-flight games away to London teams.

However, their most recent win in the capital was a 3-0 Emirates humiliation of Arsenal in May 2023. Arteta’s team made up for that loss with two wins last season, including a three-goal win at the Amex Stadium.

There were rumours before the game that Gabriel Jesus hurt his groin in training. The Brazilian was not with the team at Villa Park and will probably not play on Saturday either, but the injury is not thought to be too serious.

Anyway, Jesus will be missing along with Takehiro Tomiyasu (knee) and Kieran Tierney (hamstring) when Arsenal plays Brighton. Mikel Merino, who was finally signed from Real Sociedad this week after weeks of talks, could make his start there.

Partey, who scored the goal, has probably done enough to return to his place between Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard, so the Spaniard will likely sit on the bench for now. However, Trossard has every right to expect to start against his old team instead of the moody Gabriel Martinelli.

However, Brighton’s brand-new star player Matt O’Riley had to leave his start against Crawley after just nine minutes because of an ankle injury caused by a late challenge by Jay Williams. Arsenal may show off their new midfielder this weekend.

Hurzeler was quickly pessimistic about O’Riley’s diagnosis after the game, so the former Celtic player will definitely be sitting on the bench at the Emirates along with Solly March (knee). Brajan Gruda and Mats Wieffer will also need to be checked out for injuries.

Evan Ferguson was back on the bench this week because of an injury problem, but the 19-year-old isn’t expected to replace Welbeck, who is trying to score in three straight Premier League games for the first time in 10 years.

Ferdi Kadioglu, a Turkish Euro 2024 star who was once linked with a move to the Emirates Stadium, could also make his start at left back.

Arsenal could start with: Raya; White; Saliba; Gabriel; Timber; Odegaard; Partey; Rice; Saka; Havertz; Trossard.

The likely starting eleven for Brighton & Hove Albion is: Steele; Veltman, Dunk, Van Hecke, Kadioglu; Milner, Gilmour; Minteh, Pedro, Mitoma; Welbeck