Brighton preview + Arteta on Smith Rowe

We’re in Premier League action later this afternoon when we visit Brighton.

It’s a tough place to go, as we know, and even if they’ve had a fairly inconsistent season, they’re strong at the Amex – with 7 wins, 6 draws and just 1 defeat. Having made five changes in midweek for the game against Luton, you’d expect a few today too. While we’re definitely in one game at a time territory, the Champions League tie on Tuesday might play a part in how the manager approaches this one.

It could be a game for Takehiro Tomiyasu, either at left-back or even deputising for Ben White on the right. You’d think Declan Rice will come back into midfield, perhaps with Jorginho returning too, although earlier in the season when we played really well against Brighton, it was a midfield trio of Rice, Kai Havertz and Martin Odegaard.

Perhaps that will depend on who is available up front. Mikel Arteta was fairly coy on the availability of Bukayo Saka early in his press conference, but then said later he expects him to ‘fly’ and play a decisive part in the run-in. Whether he’s 100% ready to start, we’ll have to wait and see. Gabriel Martinelli got some more minutes on the right on Wednesday night, and if Saka isn’t there from the start, I would prefer to see him there – with Leandro Trossard on the left – than any of the other options we have.

There was no Gabriel Jesus at all in midweek, so it’ll be interesting to see if he features today. He could lead the line if fit enough, but it does feel a bit like he’s being somewhat nursed at this moment in time, and his record in the Champions League might give Arteta an either/or decision to make. Does he view him as more important for the game against Bayern?

If he’s not available, it’d probably be Havertz up front, which could mean a Jorginho/Partey in midfield with Rice further forward, or another combo. I wasn’t expecting Emile Smith Rowe to start against Luton, and his impactful performance might get him another start today. I’d be happy enough with that, to be honest. He’s surely got plenty in the tank, and while ongoing injuries, or returning from a long injury absence have to be taken into consideration with a couple of others, it’s really about match fitness with him. The more he plays, the better that situation will be.

Brighton have some injuries and absences themselves, going into this one without Kaoru Mitoma, Evan Ferguson, Billy Gilmour, Adam Webster and a couple of others, but it won’t change how they approach this game significantly. We know how they want to play, but knowing and coping are two different things. At the Emirates earlier in the season, we had such a front-footed performance, unsettling Roberto de Zerbi’s side, and in truth the 2-0 scoreline was not at all reflective of our dominance. It will be hard to replicate, but that’s probably the way we have to do it again today.

By the time we play, we could be behind Man City who are in action in the early game against Crystal Palace, so that could add another little bit of pressure, but I’m sure the focus will be entirely on what we need to do regardless of what our title rivals produce. Let’s hope we can come back to North London with the three points.

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Just on Smith Rowe again, as I said I was a bit surprised he started against Luton, and there’s been so much talk about him as a potential departure in the summer. Arteta was asked straight out if he’s still in his plans, and said:

Yes. I look at him and what happened in the last two seasons especially with him. What happened three seasons ago as well. Take all that. It’s the best thing that could’ve happened for him in his career if he uses it in the right way now, so don’t look back and say ‘if, if’.

No, this happened, use it. That was the best thing that could’ve happened. ‘I had a great moment, I had a difficult moment, now I know what I want and how to deal with that. That’s going to make me a much better player’. You can see the hell of a player that we have in him when he’s fit and playing at that level.

Obviously any manager is going to speak positively about a player in public, but the start on Wednesday and now these comments suggest, if taken at face value, Arteta still views him as a credible option. Not for the first time though, there’s something of a challenge in there to Smith Rowe too, and let’s hope it’s one he can respond to. We’ve talked a lot about how, in the final part of the season, you need players who can come in and make decisive contributions – he did that on Wednesday, and it’d be great to see more from him in these final games.

Right, let’s leave it there. We have a preview podcast for you over on Patreon now too, so get stuck into that, and you can join us later for live blog coverage of the game, and all the post-match stuff on Arseblog News.

For now, have a great Saturday.