The Premier League title race is heating up ahead of Christmas as Arsenal face Brighton, aiming to bounce back from their recent defeat against Aston Villa.Arsenal’s narrow 1-0 loss at Villa Park was only their second Premier League defeat of the season, causing them to relinquish their top spot to Liverpool.

Mikel Arteta had the luxury of resting several key players during Arsenal’s midweek match against PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League, as their progress to the next stage was already secured. However, Brighton fielded a closer-to-full-strength team in their Europa League clаsh against Marseille on Thursday, where Joao Pedro’s late goal secured their direct advancement to the round of 16.

The match between Arsenal and Brighton is currently being followed through live updates in a blog. Jesus opened the scoring for Arsenal from a corner in the 53rd minute, giving them a 1-0 lead. Gabriel Jesus heads home at the back post after a corner come off the head of Van Hecke as he tried to clear. Trossard’s Brilliance Sets up Kai Havertz for a Perfectly Executed Finish, Beating Verbruggen to Secure a Goal. 

The lineups for both teams are as follows:

Arsenal XI: Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Odegaard, Rice, Havertz; Saka, Jesus, Martinelli

Brighton XI: Verbruggen, Gross, van Hecke, Dunk, Milner, Mitoma, Veltman, Adingra, Lallana, Gilmour, Ferguson