Brighton vs Arsenal preview: Team news, Azeez & Zadok Yohanna update, h2h, tips predictions & more

⚽ Brighton & Hove Albion vs Arsenal
Predicted score	Brighton 0-1 Arsenal
Top tip	Under 3.5 goals @ 4/11
Nigerian angle	Femi Azeez and Zadok Yohanna both race against time to face Arsenal
Key stat: Brighton lead the Premier League for expected goals this season, yet Arsenal have conceded only once in their last four league matches.

Brighton vs Arsenal is set to take center stage at the American Express Stadium on Saturday, September 19, but the two Nigerian wingers for – Femi Azeez and Zadok Yohanna are set to miss out due to injuries.

Femi Azeez, who scored twice on his Super Eagles debut in June, is nursing a thigh problem that continues to keep him sidelined.

The date & kick-off time of our trip to Manchester City in the Carabao Cup has been confirmed. 📆🔜 pic.twitter.com/U9fkeVfpLw

— Brighton & Hove Albion (@BHAFC) September 18, 2026

Teenage sensation, Yohanna whose move from AIK Stockholm made him the most expensive Nigerian teenager in football history, remains out with a thigh injury of his own and has yet to win his first cap for the Super Eagles.

Their absence matters because Fabian Hürzeler already has four other attackers unavailable and cannot afford to lose any more width against the league leaders.

Arsenal arrive with a perfect four wins from four in the Premier League, while Brighton sit fifth after an uneven start of two wins, one draw and one defeat.

This is Matchweek 5 of the 2026-27 season, and it already carries the feel of an early marker for both clubs’ ambitions.

Brighton vs Arsenal match preview

Arsenal have won all four of their Premier League matches so far, scoring eight goals and conceding one in their last three outings in the competition.

That run has them top of the table on 12 points, with a goal difference of +7, ahead of a Manchester City side pushing them all the way.

Their form across all competitions is unbeaten too, including a 1-0 win away at Napoli in the Champions League and a comfortable 4-2 victory at Ipswich Town in the EFL Cup.

Brighton have been far less consistent, taking seven points from four league games to sit fifth with a goal difference of plus eight.

Hürzeler’s side thrashed Coventry City 5-0 away from home and fought back from two goals down to beat Manchester United 3-2 in the EFL Cup in midweek, but those highs have been mixed with a 4-3 defeat at Chelsea and a 1-1 draw with Leeds at home.

The numbers suggest Brighton actually lead the Premier League for expected goals this season, though they have both over-performed their own attacking output and ridden their luck at the back.

Femi Azeez arrived at Brighton this month after an impressive Championship season with Millwall that earned him a place in the division’s team of the year, and his direct running down the right has quickly made him a fan favorite.

Zadok Yohanna’s rise has been even more remarkable, moving from the Ikon Allah Academy in Kaduna to a breakthrough year at AIK Stockholm before his record transfer to the Amex Stadium.

He has already been tracked by Super Eagles coach Eric Chelle but is still to add a first senior cap to his development.

Both wingers carry thigh issues into the weekend, and their absence removes two of Hürzeler’s most direct attacking outlets against a well-organized Arsenal back line.

Mikel Arteta’s side have conceded just once in their last four league matches, a defensive record built around Gabriel and William Saliba, though Saliba himself is now out with a back injury expected to keep him sidelined for several weeks.

That absence, combined with fresh doubts over Ben White and Jurrien Timber, leaves Arsenal’s right-back slot as the one unresolved detail in an otherwise settled side.

Head-to-head Record: Brighton vs Arsenal

The reverse fixture in March finished 1-0 to Arsenal at the American Express Stadium, extending the Gunners’ recent dominance in this fixture.

Arsenal also won 2-1 at the Emirates Stadium in December, before back-to-back 1-1 draws in January of last year and August 2024.

Before that sequence, Arsenal ran out three-nil winners at the Amex in April 2024.

Across their last 18 Premier League meetings, Arsenal hold a clear advantage with eight wins to Brighton’s five, with five draws completing the picture.

Arsenal have also kept seven clean sheets in that run compared to Brighton’s two, a pattern that tends to point toward a tight, low-scoring occasion once again.

Team News: Brighton vs Arsenal

Brighton & Hove Albion

Brighton’s injury list is a long one. Mats Wieffer, Jack Hinshelwood, Yankuba Minteh, Kaoru Mitoma, Stefanos Tzimas and Evan Ferguson are all out, while Michael Svoboda and Jaouen Hadjam are carrying knocks of their own on top of the doubts over Azeez and Yohanna.

That leaves Georginio Rutter, back in training after an ankle problem, and Charalampos Kostoulas to shoulder much of the attacking responsibility, with Diego Gómez and Malick Junior Yalcouyé expected to support from either side.

Predicted XI — Brighton & Hove Albion (4-2-3-1)

Verbruggen; Kadıoğlu, Dunk, Vušković, Boscagli; Groß, Ayari; Gómez, Yalcouyé, De Cuyper; Kostoulas

Manager: Fabian Hürzeler  |  OUT: Wieffer, Hinshelwood, Minteh, Mitoma, Tzimas, Ferguson  |  DOUBT: Svoboda, Hadjam, Azeez, Yohanna

Arsenal

For Arsenal, William Saliba’s back injury is the most significant absence, while Ben White and Jurrien Timber are both doubtful and Cristhian Mosquera is also a fitness concern.

That uncertainty at right back is the one genuinely unresolved detail in Arteta’s team news, with some reports pointing to Timber continuing there and others suggesting Ezri Konsa or Myles Lewis-Skelly could deputize instead.

Predicted XI — Arsenal (4-2-3-1)

Raya; Timber, Konsa, Gabriel, Calafiori; Rice, Guimarães; Saka, Ødegaard, Tzolis; Havertz

Manager: Mikel Arteta  |  OUT: Saliba  |  DOUBT: White, Timber, Mosquera

Star Player Comparison: Pascal Groß vs Bukayo Saka

Pascal Groß remains Brighton’s most influential figure in both boxes, while Bukayo Saka continues to carry Arsenal’s biggest attacking threat.

Pascal Groß Midfielder · Brighton	Stat	Bukayo Saka Winger · Arsenal
2	Goals	3
2	Assists	0
4	Appearances	4
Primary taker, scored at Coventry	Penalty Duty	Shares duty, scored winner at Sunderland

The Managers: Fabian Hürzeler vs Mikel Arteta

Fabian Hürzeler, at 33, is one of the youngest managers in the Premier League and guided Brighton to an eighth-place finish and a return to European football last season.

His side remain committed to an expansive passing style built through the academy and the club’s data-driven recruitment model, even when results have been uneven early this season.

Mikel Arteta, 44, has Arsenal chasing another title challenge after years of gradual progress, and his side’s perfect start owes as much to defensive discipline as attacking firepower.

Both managers know a positive result here would send an early signal about where their season is heading.

Tactical preview: Brighton vs Arsenal

Hürzeler’s Brighton typically build through Groß in central midfield, using Ferdi Kadıoğlu and Maxim De Cuyper to overlap from full back and stretch the pitch.

With Mitoma and Minteh missing, and Azeez and Yohanna set to miss out, that plan loses much of its natural width, leaving Kostoulas to work mostly through the middle against a settled Arsenal back four.

Arsenal are likely to press high through Declan Rice and Bruno Guimarães, screening in front of a defense that could be reshuffled again at right back.

Saka and Christos Tzolis provide the width Brighton will be missing themselves, while Kai Havertz gives Arteta’s side a focal point to aim for when Brighton’s back line is pulled apart.

The space in behind Brighton’s advancing full backs, exploited so often by Arsenal’s wide forwards in recent meetings, is likely to be the game’s key tactical battleground once again.

Brighton vs Arsenal betting tips and predictions

Final Score Prediction: Brighton vs Arsenal

🔮 Brighton 0-1 Arsenal

Arsenal’s defense has not been breached more than once in any of their last four league games, and Brighton go into this one without their two Nigerian wingers to add attacking threat. Likely scorer: Bukayo Saka.