Nine Brighton players set to miss Arsenal match as Fabian Hurzeler passes four stars fit
Fabian Hurzeler has issued a Brighton injury update ahead of facing Arsenal
Fabian Hurzeler has confirmed Lewis Dunk, Georginio Rutter, Jaouen Hadjam and Luka Vuskovic are all fit to face Arsenal this weekend in a major boost for the injury-hit Seagulls.
While Brighton are in red-hot form on the back of scoring eight goals against Coventry City and Manchester United, they are still without a long list of crocked stars and that means the Gunners are technically facing a highly-weakened squad on Saturday.
New signing Femi Azeez is still missing due to a hamstring strain following his transfer from Millwall. Strikers Evan Ferguson and Stefanos Tzimas also remain absent while wingers Kaoru Mitoma, Yankuba Minteh and Zadok Yohanna are also out of action.
Then there's centre-back Michael Svoboda and much-loved all-action midfielder Jack Hinshelwood, who won't be returning before the international break. Versatile midfielder Mats Wieffer is also battling a knee problem.
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It means a total of nine Brighton players are set to miss Saturday's contest at the Amex Stadium, barring any late surprises and Arsenal could yet have a clean bill of health outside of long-term absentee William Saliba.
Mikel Arteta said earlier this morning that Ben White, Jurrien Timber, Cristhian Mosquera and Piero Hincapie all have a chance to train before the team makes the journey down to the South Coast for tomorrow's match up.
Tensions threatened to boil over in March when Brighton last hosted Arsenal. Bukayo Saka struck the winner but Hurzeler later accused the Gunners of time-wasting which irked Arteta.
Tensions boiled over between Arsenal and Brighton last season(Image: Shaun Brooks - CameraSport via Getty Images)
He later apologised and insists there is no issue whatsoever on his part, explaining ahead of his latest meeting with the Gunners: "Last season was last season. Opinions are important and I will always share my opinion if I am asked.
"But I congratulated Arsenal for being deserved champions. It's a new season. They started very impressively. It is our challenge to compete with them."
The two teams also played out a tense early-season battle in September 2024 when Joao Pedro snatched a point for the Seagulls against the 10-man Gunners following Declan Rice's controversial dismissal.
Brighton have claimed seven points from their opening four top-flight fixtures to date while Arsenal have claimed maximum points, swatting aside Coventry City, Aston Villa, Chelsea and Sunderland - conceding just once.
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