Arsenal to get back to winning ways against a stubborn Brighton at the Emirates.
I was looking forward to doing this Arsenal v Brighton match preview simply because I am far more confident than I have been in a while.
The defence was shocking against Norwich City on Sunday and there were the usual negatives. However, I also felt that there were some positives that we have not seen for the last couple of months.
The lads twice came back from being a goal down, they showed a fighting attitude that has been missing. That bodes well for the future. It shows under the right manager they do have the right character to dig themselves out of the rut they now find themselves in.
Freddie Ljungberg knows these players and knew what he was doing when he picked that line up against the Canaries. It was a shocker but we are probably judging him too early. He needs time to implement his vision and no matter how long he was assistant to Unai Emery he was never in a position back then to do that. He has a little time now.
I fully expect the players to be far better tomorrow night as they get more used to what Freddie wants from them. I do not see too many changes being made to the team that started against Norwich and that alone creates stability.
The fans will be behind the team 100%, there will be no toxic atmosphere and that will put the players in a far better place than has been the case recently.
Brighton is obviously going to pose a danger, we now know that any team we face is dangerous but we also know that an Arsenal team playing to its true ability can beat teams like Brighton. It is just getting them to that point and I am hopeful Freddie will do that.
The game will probably be tight but based on the improvement I saw against Norwich, the fans being fully behind Freddie and a positive atmosphere at the stadium tomorrow evening I am going for a home win.
Predicted Score
Arsenal 2-1 Brighton