Arsenal host Brighton at the Emirates Stadium on Thursday night looking for their first league win in over two months. The match will also be Freddie Ljungberg’s first at the Emirates Stadium since he was appointed as the interim head coach barely a week ago.
The Swedish manager has a few decisions to make ahead of the match with the most obvious one being his starting line up. Below, we look at the main talking point ahead of the match.
Nicholas Pepe
The Ivorian joined Arsenal in the summer for a club-record fee but has seen his impact limited. The winger did not feature in Unai Emerys last League match and also during Ljungbergs first match as the Gunners drew 2-2 with Norwich City.
Playing him will have to be a consideration on Thursday especially considering how the Gunner struggled for pace and power in the final minutes against Norwich.
A clean sheet
Arsenal has kept just two clean sheets in the league this season and has kept none in the last seven matches in all competitions. Against Norwich, the Gunners were bailed out by Bernd Leno who made brilliant saves to keep the scoreline respectable for Arsenal.
At home, Arsenal will need to keep Brighton at bay and prevent them from having a sniff at Leno’s goal, FAilure to this and the Freddie Ljungberg era could turn toxic before it even begins!
The Performance level
Arsenal has not dominated a Premier League match from start to finish. The only match that came close to a full dominance was against Leicester City at the Emirates last season.
There were signs of improvements in the last match against Norwich whereArsenal dominated the first half but ironically were losing 2-1 at half time. Freddie needs a comprehensive dominant performance on Thursday.