Arsenal are preparing to face off with Brighton, both teams with hundred percent record i the EPL this season
Should we do that, it would be the fourth time in our Premier League history we’ve claimed nine points from nine, and the second occasion under Mikel Arteta’s stewardship as we set the tone for the campaign ahead.
However we’ll have a fight on our hands as Fabian Hurzeler’s Brighton have also impressed in the opening weeks, but we’ll be hoping that last season’s double over the south-coast club plus home advantage at a noisy Emirates Stadium will help push us into the international break with a perfect start.
31-year-old Hurzeler has become the Premier League’s youngest-ever manager, but he has quickly made an impression, with Everton crushed 3-0 on the opening day, and a last-minute Joao Pedro header beating Manchester United 2-1. Carabao Cup progress was also achieved on Tuesday as Crawley Town were drubbed 4-0 by the free-scoring Seagulls.
They’ve enjoyed a busy, high-spending transfer window, and before deadline day they were Europe’s second-biggest spenders. £40 million took Leeds United forward Georgino Rutter, £30 million splashed on Newcastle United winger Yankuba Minteh, and midfielders Mats Wieffer, Brajan Gruda and Matt O’Reilly costing £25 million apiece.
A similar fee was spent on central defender Ferdi Kadioglu who arrived from Fenerbache on Tuesday, while the major departures have seen Pascal Gross head to Borussia Dortmund, while Deniz Undav joined him in the Bundesliga with Stuttgart. Facundo Buonanotte has headed to Leicester City on loan, while Valentin Barco has temporarily switched to Sevilla.
Arteta’s pre-match interview -“We try to prepare like every manager and every team does, giving us the exact information and the relevant information that can really help us and give us what we need to win the game. We will try to do the same tomorrow for a team that is doing really well and have won all of their games with their new coach. It’s going to be a tough match.
“We are playing at home as well, get our supporters going, and create a special atmosphere and we know how important it is to have that kind of energy.”
Huretzler Pre-match Interview-
“I’m looking forward to competing with Arsenal and their coaching staff. It will be a great challenge for us and we have a lot of respect but we go there to win and show our style of play even when we play away.
“We have had a great start. We are trying to make the next step, trying to continue the process, and now we have a big challenge ahead of us. We are looking forward and let’s see what happens on Saturday.”
Injuries and Absentees-
New signing Mikel Merino picked up a shoulder injury during training and will be out for a few weeks, while Gabriel Jesus will also be missing after he was forced to sit out the win against Aston Villa due to a groin problem.
Takehiro Tomiyasu and Kieran Tierney are our other injury concerns after the duo continue to recover from their knee and hamstring issues sustained during the summer, while Neto and Raheem Sterling weren’t registered in time to play in this fixture.
As for Brighton, O’Reilly was injured 10 minutes into his debut against Crawley after a strong tackle that left him needing a surgery on his ankle, while Weiffer missed the Manchester United win with a minor issue and could return.
Ankle injuries have blighted Brighton, with Evan Ferguson and Pervis Estupinan out since the spring with similar ailments, but both returned to the bench in midweek, with the latter getting some gametime in the League Cup success.
