Paul Merson predicts the scoreline of Brighton v Arsenal
Paul Merson previews Arsenal's trip to Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday night
Paul Merson is backing Arsenal to make it four wins in a row in the Premier League when they travel to face Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday night.
The north London side earned lots of praise for their impressive performance last weekend when they claimed a 3-1 victory over derby rivals Tottenham Hotspur at The Emirates.
Goals from Emile Smith Rowe, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Bukayo Saka put Arsenal 3-0 up before half-time, with Son Heung-Min netting a consolation for the visitors in the second half.
Arsenal now head to the south coast looking to continue their recent good run of form. The Gunners are aiming to win back-to-back away league games against Brighton for the first time since April 1981.
And former Arsenal and England midfielder Merson feels that the Gunners are on course to claim the three points against the Seagulls after having “turned a corner” in their season.
Writing in his column for Sportskeeda, Merson said: “Arsenal have turned a corner. They produced a fantastic performance against Spurs in the north London derby last weekend in the Premier League and have won three games on the bounce without conceding a goal.
“That said, Arsenal’s Achilles heel over the past few years has been consistency, so I wouldn’t be shocked in the slightest if they fail to record a victory against Brighton.
“If Arsenal keep their main XI fit, they stand a realistic chance of causing a lot of problems. Without European football, they only play one game a week and that could work to their advantage.
“Just when I thought that they could string together a run of victories with their first-choice 11, Granit Xhaka has been ruled out for nearly three months with an injury!
“In the grand scheme of things, Arsenal should win this and I predict they will prevail 2-1. I said earlier that I wouldn’t be surprised if they failed to record a positive result, but Brighton were really fortunate against Crystal Palace and will likely get beat if Arsenal continue to play like they have been in the past few weeks.”
Arsenal – who finished eighth and without a trophy last term – started the weekend in 10th place in the Premier League table, with Brighton ahead of them in sixth spot.
The Seagulls have enjoyed a strong start to the new campaign and find themselves just a point behind leaders Liverpool FC heading into Saturday’s clash with the Gunners.
