Arsenal blow as Premier League rule sees first team star suspended against Brighton

Arsenal will be without defender Jurrien Timber for the visit to Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday after the full-back picked up a fifth yellow card of the season in the 3-1 win over Brentford on Wednesday evening.

The Dutchman lunged in on Bees full-back Keane Lewis-Potter in the Brentford half after just 17th minutes and was shown yellow by referee Peter Bankes. Having already been booked against Brighton, Tottenham Hotspur, Newcastle United and Crystal Palace, that fifth card will result in a one game ban.

That means that Timber, who has started the last 11 league outings since returning from a muscle injury in October, will be banned when the Gunners travel to the AMEX Stadium on Saturday. It's a significant blow for Mikel Arteta, who is already without Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu due to injury.

Jurrien Timber handed Premier League suspension

Should Timber have avoided a yellow card in the fixture against Brentford, the defender would have seen his tally of cards reset with that being Arsenal's 19th match of the campaign. Gabriel Jesus also went into the match at the Gtech with four yellow cards but avoided a suspension by staying out of the referee's book.

Speaking after the win over Brentford, Arteta said: “It’s a very difficult place to come with their record at home and how they play. They cause issues for opponents, it’s impressive. On top of that, we went a goal down so it becomes a mountain to climb but I think the team showed a lot of composure.

“We were very calm emotionally, which we needed in today’s game, and had the right desire to keep insisting and attacking them. Overall, I think we deserve to win the game.”

Arsenal squad fighting illness

The absence of Timber this weekend comes with Arsenal striker Kai Havertz facing a race against time to work his way back from an illness that kept him out of the fixture on New Year’s Day.

Arteta hopes to have the forward available to face the Seagulls but said: “These things happen in this period. Throat infections, viruses, I tried to delay the line up as far as possible as you can get up in the morning and have a surprise unfortunately.

“Yes, I hope so [players being back from illness against Brighton]. It’s nothing serious but they weren’t in an ideal condition to play today. I leave it to the doctor, with Kai it was obvious, he wasn’t feeling well at all and had clear symptoms.”

Arsenal make the trip to the south coast this weekend unbeaten in their last nine Premier League matches. The Gunners have won their last three with an aggregate scoreline of 9-3 with victories over Brentford, Ipswich Town and Crystal Palace.

Brighton meanwhile haven’t won a league match since beating AFC Bournemouth 2-1 towards the end of November. The Seagulls have drawn their last three against West Ham, Brentford and Aston Villa.

Last time the two sides met was at the Emirates Stadium in August, where goals from Kai Havertz and Joao Pedro cancelled one another out in a 1-1 draw. The Gunners’ last visit to the Amex was in April 2024 when Mikel Arteta’s side took all three points in a 3-0 victory.