PREVIEW: Arsenal aim to boost title hopes at Amex despite Brighton’s uptick in form | OneFootball

Arsenal aim to extend their five-point cushion at the Premier League summit on the south coast as hosts Brighton target three successive wins for the first time since the end of last season.

Arsenal remain in the driving seat to lift their first Premier League title since 2003/04, when they famously went the entire season without losing a game.

They sit five points clear of title challengers Manchester City, who host Nottingham Forest on Wednesday night and are still with a game in hand.

The Gunners harnessed their set-piece prowess once more last time out to earn a 2-1 victory over Chelsea, but some frailties were exposed when defending corners.

David Raya’s last-gasp save to deny Alejandro Garnacho prevented Liam Rosenior’s side from snatching a point at the Emirates in stoppage time, prompting debate as to whether Arsenal could continue to rely on set pieces to bail them out of trouble.

Their number-one goalkeeper remains available for the away trip on Wednesday night, as does England midfielder Declan Rice – who came off in the second half on the weekend with an unspecified injury.

Gunners manager Mikel Arteta assured that he could recover in time for the game against Brighton, despite only having two days to prepare for the clash.

The Arsenal boss may have to make a late call on starting Rice, and faces a similar predicament with Kai Havertz.

He said: “He has done a part of the session, so we will have to wait and see whether he’s available and in which condition.”

Martin Odegaard also remains a doubt as the Gunners captain continues to nurse a knee injury that he picked up in Arsenal’s 1-1 draw at Brentford last month.

Arteta also provided an update on right-back Ben White, who is set to be ruled out to face his former club after missing Arsenal’s last two Premier League games with a knock.

Academy graduate Max Dowman, 16, could make an appearance on the bench for the first time since November, following a long absence due to an ankle injury.

The promising winger featured for Arsenal’s under 21s for a total of 45 minutes last week.

Brighton strung back-to-back wins together for the first time since November to restore faith in Fabian Hürzeler and cement the Seagulls in the midtable.

Although the test against Arsenal could be described as a free hit for Brighton, they will be quietly confident they can emulate the competitive displays of Brentford and Wolves against the league leaders.

The Seagulls have also received a major boost ahead of the match in Yasin Ayari’s imminent return.

Hürzeler said: “He trained yesterday, so hopefully he reacts fine to the first training session. I’m quite confident that he will be an option for tomorrow.”

It was announced that 35-year-old top scorer Danny Welbeck triggered a one-year extension clause in his contract yesterday to extend at the club, having notched 11 goals in 30 games this season.

Welbeck is Brighton’s top scorer this season, and he could improve on his tally of 11 across all competitions from last season by netting against his former club, Arsenal.

Hürzeler heaped praise on his marksman, saying: “Every coach would be happy to have a player like him.

“In the last two seasons, he has scored more goals than in other seasons, and it is because he is playing more minutes.

“He has unbelievably good fitness, and we have a really good medical department, so they work together.”

Brighton still have the prospect of propelling themselves into the Conference League qualification picture with a third win on the bounce, and going toe-to-toe with Arsenal would prove they can do just that.

The match at the Amex Stadium will kick off at 19:30 (GMT) on Wednesday, with live coverage available on TNT Sports 2.