Freddie Ljungberg’s side will play their first fixture of 2019 on Monday night when they face Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League 2.
THE STORY SO FAR
We’re currently in eighth place in the PL2 table after 13 fixtures, having picked up four wins and four draws along the way.
We kicked off the season in fine form by going eight games unbeaten, but we’ve since slipped to four consecutive defeats in the PL2 against Chelsea, Derby, Liverpool and Blackburn,
It’s worth noting, however, that we have been without the services of Eddie Nketiah, Emile Smith Rowe and more recently, Joe Willock, due to first-team commitments. Xavier Amaechi and Robbie Burton have also been out through injury.
Tyreece John-Jules has shown great promise in attack, but Nketiah remains our top goalscorer this season with seven goals in six PL2 appearances.
THE OPPONENTS
Brighton are currently third in the table on 22 points, just three points behind leaders Everton.
The Seasiders have picked up six wins from 13 fixtures, losing just three all season; fewer than any other side in the division.
Their most notable wins of the season so far include a 5-0 thrashing of Manchester City, a 3-2 victory over Chelsea and more recently, a thrilling 4-2 win over West Ham.
Aaron Connolly is currently the top goalscorer in the PL2 with an impressive 11 goals from 12 outings.
ONE TO WATCH
With the hosts boasting the league’s top scorer, Zech Medley will need to perform on Monday night.
The 18-year-old centre back is gifted on the ball and plays a vital role in our build-up play, but it’s his tough tackling and commanding headers that we’ll needing most at the Checkatrade.com Stadium.
Medley’s impressed so much in training that Unai Emery handed the youngster his Arsenal debut against Vorskla in November. Since then he’s go on to feature once more in the Europa League against Qarabag.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
You can receive live updates by following our Twitter account @ArsenalAcademy
Copyright 2024 The Arsenal Football Club Limited. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www.arsenal.com as the source.
