Arsenal were outplayed by Crystal Palace on Monday night as the Eagles went on to secure an impressive 3-0 victory at Selhurst Park.
The defeat means that the Gunners currently occupy fifth position in the Premier League, as north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur sit in fourth on goal difference. Mikel Arteta's side do have a game in hand on the Lilywhites, but they'll need to get back to winning ways against Brighton this weekend.
Whilst Arsenal do have the advantage in the race for Champions League football, they've been shocked by two major injury blows at a critical stage of the season. Kieran Tierney has been ruled out for the remainder of the campaign as a result of a knee injury that requires surgery. Meanwhile, Thomas Partey is now a doubt for Brighton following a thigh issue he picked up against Palace.
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The Ghanaian was replaced by Albert Sambi Lokonga on Monday and the Belgian now looks set to start in place of Partey on Saturday. Whilst he hasn't played much football recently, he was called-up to the Belgium squad for their recent friendlies with the Republic of Ireland and Burkina Faso.
However, the 22-year-old was benched for both those games. Roberto Martinez went onto explain that others took their chance in training, whilst Lokonga didn't show enough to warrant minutes.
As cited by HITC, Martinez said: “Some took their chance in training and others a little less. Wout Faes and Sambi deserved minutes, but others just a little more. Their chances are not exhausted. Sambi has made progress, but others may have shown a little more.”
We've not heard much about a lack of effort on Lokonga's part, but Martinez's words are likely to worry Arteta. It looks as though he's got a chance to rectify things this weekend though, and a solid performance against Brighton will certainly earn him high-praise.
