Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard will return to the Arsenal starting lineup when they take on Brighton & Hove Albion at the Amex Stadium on Saturday.
Arsenal will aim to continue the perfect start to the 2026/27 season when they lock horns with Brighton & Hove Albion at the Amex Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Mikel Arteta has no new injury concerns to worry about ahead of his side’s latest fixture.
William Saliba is the only confirmed absentee, with the French international continuing to recover from a back injury he sustained at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Meanwhile, Arteta has been sweating over the fitness of Ben White, Jurrien Timber, Cristhian Mosquera, and Piero Hincapie.
However, during his pre-match press conference, Arteta suggested that the quartet could be available to take on Brighton this weekend. The Spanish tactician also discussed the possibility of using Eberechi Eze on the left flank more regularly this season.
The Arsenal manager said, “They are all good, we have another training session this afternoon, so very positive about everybody. We have another session, they are all willing to be part of it to try to make sure they are fit.”
“He [Eze] has always played there in his career, that’s where all his biggest moments in his career and the highlights of his career have come. I think it’s a place that he feels very, very, very comfortable. He can occupy different spaces, but that’s the space that generally he has created big moments for previous clubs as well to win matches.”
David Raya is an automatic pick between the sticks, with Arsenal lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him against Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday. The backline will feature Jurrien Timber, Ezri Konsa, Gabriel Magalhaes, and Riccardo Calafiori, with Martin Zubimendi waiting in the wings if Timber and White are not fit enough to start.
As for the midfield unit, Bruno Guimaraes should line up alongside Declan Rice in the double pivot, with Martin Odegaard reprising the no. 10 role. Finally, Kai Havertz will lead the line for Arsenal against Brighton, with Bukayo Saka and Christos Tzolis being the two wide attackers.
Predicted Arsenal XI: Raya; Timber, Konsa, Gabriel, Calafiori; Odegaard, Rice, Guimaraes; Saka, Havertz, Tzolis
