New Arsenal's toughest test so far?

Arsenal travel to the Amex to play high flying Brighton on Saturday evening, aiming to extend their three-game winning streak in the Premier League.

The Gunners are fresh off the back of a dominant 3-1 victory against North London rivals Tottenham during which we saw a glimpse of Arteta’s Arsenal going “bang” in a blistering first half.

Arsenal put together 45 minutes of excellence, dominating their duels and running Tottenham ragged, capitalising on the superiority with three superb goals.

Arteta reverted back to a 4-2-3-1, bringing in Granit Xhaka, following his three game suspension, for Nicolas Pépé.

Arsenal's superiority was evident from the off, pressing high, winning headers and carving through Tottenham multiple times.

The opener came from White beating Kane in the air, with the ball dropping to Xhaka in midfield. The ball was flicked to Ødegaard before being played out to Saka in space after Aubameyang had dragged Reguilon out of position. Saka beat his man and cut the ball back for Smith Rowe who swept the ball into the back of the net 12 minutes in.

The Gunners doubled the lead in the 27th minute, building up from the keeper and cutting through Tottenham. Ramsdale played the ball to Xhaka who shrugged off Højbjerg to turn, before finding Smith Rowe ahead. The youngster laid the ball off to Tierney who fizzed the ball into Aubameyang. The captain flicked the ball past the defender to Smith Rowe who drove into the box, cutting the ball back to Aubameyang who found the net with a weak foot strike in into the far corner.

In the 33rd minute Arsenal's rampant start was complete. Kane lost control of the ball on the edge of Arsenal's box with Xhaka playing it to Ødegaard. The midfielder found Smith Rowe who spread the play to Saka on the right. Saka carried the ball into the box as a challenge from Kane fortunately bounced the way of Saka who stroked the ball into the far corner to put Arsenal 3-0 up.

Meanwhile, Brighton are coming off of a 1-1 draw in the A23 derby against Crystal Palace on Monday night.

Neil Maupay scored a 95th minute equaliser at the end of a tightly contested affair as Graham Potter's men continued their strong start to the season. The Seagulls currently sit in sixth place with marquee wins over Brentford and Leicester City.

Despite their impressive start, Brighton currently have the third worst expected goals in the league (6.0), sitting above only Tottenham (5.6) and Norwich (5.3).

To Arsenal's dismay, Maupay is a man in form, scoring 4 goals from the opening 6 games and the Frenchman will be up for causing an upset once again.

Brighton looks to be Arsenal's toughest test since the international break. The two sides have shared a mixed bag of results since Brighton's return to the Premier League with each side winning 3 times alongside 2 draws. Saturday evening's game will be as tight as the recent results suggest.

Prediction:

Brighton 1 - 1 Arsenal

Bukayo Saka and Aaron Ramsdale have been named in Gareth Southgate's England squad ahead of World Cup qualifiers against Andorra and Hungary.

After a difficult start, Saka is beginning to hit form this season, picking up an assist in the win over Burnley before a goal and an assist display against Tottenham at the weekend.

His role in the Euro's campaign over the summer makes him an automatic selection in the England squad, and minutes back in the side for the qualifiers should help further his confidence.

Since taking over as Arsenal's number 1 against Norwich three weeks ago, Ramsdale has not looked back, keeping two clean sheets and producing a mesmerising save late on against Tottenham.

The England stopper has been commanding in the air and good with the ball at his feet during this three game run and his performances have given him a well-earned spot in Southgate's squad.

Adam Perry - 1/10/2021