By Goal.com News on Saturday, 20 June 2020
Category: Goal.com News

LIVE: Brighton vs Arsenal

56' SAVE! A right-wing cross finds Maupay at the far post and the Frenchman controls with his first touch before lashing a fierce effort at goal from a tight angle, but Martinez has his near post covered and it's straight at him.

53' NO GOAL! Aubameyang is found in acres of space behind the defensive line by Saka and he calmly strides forward and dispatches the chance into the bottom-right corner, but VAR shows that the striker's foot was marginally offside when the ball was played and disallows the goal!

52' Lacazette is felled in the process of laying the ball back to Aubameyang on the edge of the box, who subsequently finds Saka in behind on the left to fire at goal from a tight angle, but the flag goes up for offside.

50' Kolasinac stumbles as he gets to the byline after being fed by a clever reverse pass and the ball runs out of play. That was a waste of a promising opportunity.

48' CHANCE! Ceballos feeds Aubameyang on the left and he skips away from his marker before driving to the edge of the box. He strikes across goal with his left foot but Ryan parries it away before gathering at the second attempt as Lacazette lurked for the rebound.

47' Arsenal have only lost one of their nine Premier League games in which they have been level at half-time this season (W5 D3), winning each of the last three in a row.

46' Bissouma takes on a very ambitious effort and thumps a strike well over the bar from distance.

46' We're back underway for the second half!

The Gunners have shown a marked improvement from their display in midweek, but the loss of Leno - one of their key players this season - to what appears to be a serious injury must be a real concern for Arteta as his injury list begins to grow ever longer. Brighton will be pleased to have made it to half-time without conceding, and will hope to make their opponents pay for failing to score whilst on top.

There goes the half-time whistle! Arsenal had a flurry of early chances, the pick of which was when Saka struck the crossbar after some neat touches on the edge of the box. Lacazette was also denied by a superb save as Ryan got a hand to his diving header. The Gunners lost Leno to a serious-looking injury, however, as the goalkeeper landed awkwardly following a collision with Maupay. The visitors have been the better side, but have yet to break the deadlock. It remains 0-0 at the halfway point.

45' + 6' HALF-TIME: BRIGHTON AND HOVE ALBION 0-0 ARSENAL

45' + 4' GREAT CHALLENGE! Aubameyang finds Lacazette and runs into the box, where the Frenchman finds him with a superb back-heel, but Webster just gets there ahead of Aubameyang andnicks the ball away on the stretch!

45' + 3' An opportunity goes begging as Saka is found in acres of space on the left and crosses into the middle, but it's just behind Lacazette and the ball gets away from him!

45' + 1' We're into the first of five minutes added time at the end of this first half due to the lengthy treatment needed by Leno.

42' SAVE! Martinez is called into action immediately, hanging onto Mooy's firm left-footed drive from just inside the box following a corner.

38' The stretcher is out and it looks like Leno will have to be replaced. Arsenal look set to lose a third player to injury in two games.

36' Leno comes to the edge of his area to catch a long ball forward and collides with Maupay before going down. Play is stopped and Mustafi urgently waves the medical team on to aid his compatriot.

34' Brighton are pressing high but Arsenal have so far managed to navigate their way out from the back and build with short passes.

32' That header from Lacazette was the first shot on target of the match by either side. The Gunners had faded after a strong opening 10 minutes, largely controlling the game but failing to test Ryan in the subsequent 20-minute spell.

31' SAVE! What a save by Ryan! Saka gets down the left and curls a gorgeous cross into the middle that picks Lacazette out perfectly, bouncing just before it reaches him. The striker dives to head it down and goalwards, but Ryan is sharply down to deny him!

28' A quick change of direction from Mooy draws a foul from Bellerin in a wide area and Brighton have an opportunity to float the ball into the box. It's wasted, however, as the free-kick is overhit.

26' We're back in action again and Trossard tries to volley at goal after a clever dink over the top, but gets right underneath it and balloons the ball into the stands.

24' There's a brief stoppage in play as the players go to the sidelines for a water break. The sun is shining brightly on the south coast at the moment.

22' Pepe sends Burn the wrong way with a big feint and drives past him before being felled, but the referee deems the challenge fair. The Ivorian stays down, holding his ankle, but it seems as though he will be able to continue.

20' CHANCE! Some sloppy challenges across the pitch allow Brighton to carve out an opportunity on the left for Maupay, but the angle is tight and Leno holds the effort comfortably in the end.

18' Pepe bursts past a couple of defenders on the right with ease, before being held up at the byline by a third, who eventually wins a goal-kick off the winger. 

16' Arsenal have looked much more composed in possession so far today than they did against City, working the ball around well and keeping Brighton under pressure in their own half.

14' Arsenal counter from a Brighton corner as Bellerin keeps possession well, before Ceballos tries to find Pepe down the right, eventually earning the Gunners a corner of their own.

12' Arsenal have had more shots in the opening 10 minutes of this match (4) than they managed in the entire 90 minutes against Manchester City in midweek (3).

10' BLOCK! Lacazette breaks into the box as Arsenal start to turn the screw and the striker thumps a low strike at goal from a tight angle on the right, but it's blocked desperately away.

8' CROSSBAR! Saka barges through the inside-left channel and gets to the edge of the bot before unleashing a sweetly-struck effort off his weaker right foot that has Ryan completely beaten, but pings back off the bar! Ryan fumbles the rebound under pressure, but eventually gathers at the second attempt.

7' Arsenal are settling into a comfortable spell of possession now, working the ball from side to side across the back four.

6' WIDE! A loose pass gifts Aubameyang the ball in the final third and he races towards the edge of the box before letting fly on his weaker left foot. It's a well-hit strike, though, and flies just the wrong side of the top-left corner!

4' Kolasinac goes down in the box as Brighton swing a corner into the middle, and there's a brief pause to check on him. The left-back appears to be fine, and play resumes.

2' CHANCE! Guendouzi threads a lovely ball into the right channel for Pepe to race onto in behind. The Ivorian crosses for Aubameyang in the middle and the striker tries an acrobatic finish, but can't connect and Brighton counter, only for Guendouzi to break up the attack on the edge of the Arsenal box.

1' We're off! Arsenal get us underway at the Amex.

However, Arsenal are winless in their last four away league games against Brighton (D1 L3), last winning there back in April 1981.

Brighton remain the only side without a win in the Premier League in 2020, with the Seagulls drawing six and losing three since the turn of the year.

Meanwhile, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is forced to make five changes as he rotates his team after their defeat against Manchester City three days ago, with Holding, Pepe, Ceballos, Lacazette and Kolasinac all coming into the side. On-loan defender Pablo Mari and midfielder Granit Xhaka both miss out after suffering injuries early on in that game, while Nketiah, Willock and Tierney drop to the bench. David Luiz is suspended after being sent off against the reigning champions, while Calum Chambers, Lucas Torreira, Cedric Soares and Sokratis Papastathopoulos are all unavailable due to injury.

Brighton boss Graham Potter makes just two changes to the side he picked in the Seagulls' last game before football was suspended - a goalless draw with Wolves at Molineux. March and Montoya drop to the bench, with Gross and Schelotto taking their places.

Arsenal substitutes: Emiliano Martinez, Mesut Ozil, Reiss Nelson, Zech Medley, Eddie Nketiah, Joe Willock, Gabriel Martinelli, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Kieran Tierney.

Arsenal XI (4-3-3): Bernd Leno; Hector Bellerin, Shkodran Mustafi, Rob Holding, Sead Kolasinac; Matteo Guendouzi, Dani Ceballos, Bukayo Saka; Nicolas Pepe, Alexandre Lacazette, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

Brighton and Hove Albion substitutes: Tariq Lamptey, Glenn Murray, Solly March, Alexis Mac Allister, Aaron Connolly, Shane Duffy, Martin Montoya, David Button, Dale Stephens.

Brighton and Hove Albion XI (4-2-3-1): Mat Ryan; Ezequiel Schelotto, Adam Webster, Lewis Dunk, Dan Burn; Davy Propper, Yves Bissouma; Aaron Mooy, Pascal Gross, Leandro Trossard; Neal Maupay.

Brighton's first game back sees them host Arsenal, with both sides desperate for points. The Seagulls are just two points clear of the relegation zone, whilst Arsenal are eight adrift of the top four and lost 3-0 to Manchester City last time out.

Hello and welcome to our LIVE coverage of the Premier League fixture between Brighton and Hove Albion and Arsenal at the Amex Stadium.

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