Arsenal welcome Brighton & Hove Albion to the Emirates Stadium for Wednesday night’s Carabao Cup fourth-round clash.
The Gunners are leading the way in the Premier League off the back of an imperious defensive record, and another clean sheet on Sunday helped them to a slender victory over Brighton’s A23 rivals Crystal Palace.
The Seagulls were beaten at Manchester United on Saturday amid an up-and-down start to their 2025–26 campaign, but they’ve been absolutely electric in this competition so far, defeating Oxford United and Barnsley 6–0 to set up this tie. Arsenal, meanwhile, beat Port Vale 2–0 in the third round.
There’s certainly no love lost between these two teams after their pair of 1–1 draws last season were laden with controversy. The Gunners felt aggrieved in both stalemates, having seen Declan Rice harshly sent off in the first meeting before Brighton were awarded a penalty in the reverse fixture for William Saliba’s soft collision with João Pedro.
The visitors also downed the hosts when they last faced off in this competition three years ago, as a Brighton side led by Roberto De Zerbi won 3–1 in north London.
The Arsenal boss admitted he was “unsure” about the knocks Declan Rice and William Saliba sustained against Palace, while Riccardo Calafiori was also forced off on Sunday. Gabriel Martinelli was then seen limping down the tunnel post-match.
Arteta may not deem it necessary to risk the aforementioned names in midweek, with the Gunners’ squad deep enough to cope with such absences on Wednesday night. Cristhian Mosquera, Mikel Merino and Myles Lewis-Skelly could all come into the team, while Piero Hincapié may make his first start in red and white.
Martin Ødegaard, Noni Madueke, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus remain out of action. Bukayo Saka should get a rest after battling an illness in the build-up to Sunday’s win.
Arsenal predicted lineup vs. Brighton (4-3-3): Kepa; White, Mosquera, Hincapié, Lewis-Skelly, Nørgaard, Merino, Eze; Nwaneri, Gyökeres, Trossard.
