Timber starts as Arsenal name strong XI at Brighton — key defender absent

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Jurrien Timber returns to the Arsenal starting line-up at the Amex Stadium this afternoon, with Mikel Arteta naming a near full-strength side for the Premier League trip to Brighton.

The Arsenal XI reads: Raya; Timber, Konsa, Gabriel, Calafiori; Rice, Bruno, Odegaard; Tzolis, Saka, Havertz.

Timber slots in at right-back with Ezri Konsa partnering Gabriel at the heart of the defence and Riccardo Calafiori on the left. Notably, William Saliba is absent from the matchday squad entirely, with the Frenchman named neither in the starting eleven nor among the substitutes.

A midfield three with plenty of miles in it

Declan Rice, Bruno and Martin Odegaard form the midfield, with the captain pulling the strings behind a front three of Christos Tzolis, Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz.

The bench offers Arteta considerable scope to change things: Kepa, Hincapie, Eze, Gyokeres, Madueke, Merino, Zubimendi, Lewis-Skelly and Dowman. Max Dowman's inclusion is worth noting given the teenager's situation was the subject of fresh reporting only this morning, with Arseblog reporting that Arteta is open-minded about a loan move as interest in the youngster grows.

With Hincapie the only recognised defender among the substitutes, Arteta will be relying on the versatility of Rice, Zubimendi and Lewis-Skelly should anything go wrong at the back.

Brighton's line-up

Brighton, under Roberto De Zerbi, line up with: Verbruggen; Struijk, Gross, Chema, Kostoulas, Boscagli, Kadioglu, Gomez, Ayari, de Cuyper, Vuskovic. Their bench features Steele, Hadjam, Rutter, Promise, Osman, Costinha, Svoboda, O'Riley and Yalcouye.

The Amex has historically been an awkward venue for Arsenal, and Brighton's squad depth — with Georginio Rutter and Matt O'Riley available in reserve — means De Zerbi has options to change the shape of the contest after the break.

Arsenal arrive on the back of a strong run of results. The Gunners beat Chelsea 2-1 at the Emirates on 6 September before travelling to Italy and edging past Napoli 1-0 in the Champions League on 9 September, following a 1-0 win away at Aston Villa at the end of August. Clean sheets have been a theme, and the defensive unit named today has been central to that.

The summer window also saw significant movement at the club, with Arsenal finalising a club-record deal involving Gabriel Martinelli at the end of August — a piece of business that has reshaped the attacking options Arteta can call upon, with Tzolis starting wide and Viktor Gyokeres and Noni Madueke held in reserve.

Kick-off is this afternoon at the Amex, with Arsenal looking to extend their winning run and keep pace at the top of the Premier League.