Predicted Arsenal XI v Brighton: 31-year-old returns to starting line-up, ‘ruthless’ star drops out

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Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal will be hoping to make it two Premier League wins in a row as they head to the south coast on Tuesday for a 6pm kickoff.

The Gunners stopped the rot on Boxing Day with a 3-1 win over Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium and will hope to follow that up with three points at Brighton.

Victory for Arsenal at the Amex Stadium would put them on 20 points and potentially up to 12th in the table, depending on how Leeds fare in their trip to West Brom.

So, who could Arteta name in his starting XI?

Bernd Leno is likely to continue in goal, and given Gabriel Magalhaes is self-isolating, the back four will likely consist of Kieran Tierney, Pablo Mari, Rob Holding and Hector Bellerin again.

Although Thomas Partey is back in full training, the Brighton game may just be a little too soon for him, so Granit Xhaka and Mohamed Elneny will likely continue in front of the defence.

Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe could also keep their spots in front of the midfield, but Gabriel Martinelli is likely to be rested as he’s not long come back from injury.

The Brazilian, deemed “ruthless in training in every single action” by Arteta, has shown exactly what Arsenal have been missing since his return, but he mustn’t be overexerted.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has not played since mid-December as he has been suffering with a calf issue, but was in the squad against Chelsea – the 31-year-old should come in on the left.

Finally, Alexandre Lacazette had one of his best games in a while against the Blues and should lead the line once again.

Predicted Arsenal starting XI v Brighton (4-2-3-1): Leno; Bellerin, Holding, Mari, Tierney; Elneny, Xhaka; Saka, Smith Rowe, Aubameyang; Lacazette