Arsenal v Brighton, the injuries and Brighton’s dodgy finances

By Bulldog Drummond

It is interesting just how volatile the injury league table from Physioroom.com has been this season.  Here’s the league table before the final match of the campaign – the number at the end of each row is the number of men reported by Physioroom as being out this weekend.

1. Newcastle United: 11
2. Crystal Palace: 9
3. Liverpool: 8
4. Brighton and Hove Albion: 7
5. Sheffield United: 7
6. Manchester United: 6
7. Burnley: 5
8. Fulham: 5
9. Leeds United 5
10. Manchester City: 5
11. Wolverhampton Wanderers: 5
12. Aston Villa: 4
13. Leicester City: 4
14. Southampton: 4
15. Arsenal: 3
16. Chelsea: 3
17. Everton: 3
18. West Bromwich Albion: 3
19. West Ham United: 3
20. Tottenham Hots: 2

So here’s our final line-up of the unavailable for this season.  There is a contradiction between Bellerin’s May 18 statement and the condition and status reported – but that is what the chart says.

Player	Reason	Further Detail	Potential Return	Condition	Status
Mathew Ryan	Other	Unable to Face Parent Club	24/05/2021	None	Ruled Out
David Luiz	Thigh Injury	May 18: “Continues to make progress. Working hard with the medical team ahead of Sunday’s match.”	23/05/2021	Late Fitness Test	50%
Hector Bellerin	Other	May 18: “Sustained bruising to the bone in the lower leg [vs Chelsea]. Working hard with the medical team ahead of the match vs Brighton.”	No Return Date	None	Ruled Out

Here’s the Brighton and Hove injury listing – it is interesting that Tariq Lamptey and Soloman March have exactly the some commentary.  But the main thing we note is that Danny Welbeck won’t be playing.

Player	Reason	Further Detail	Potential Return	Condition	Status
Neal Maupay	Suspended	May 17: “Charged with a breach of FA Rule E3. Maupay accepted that his language and behaviour was abusive, insulting and improper following his dismissal.”	24/05/2021	None	Ruled Out
Solomon March	Knee Injury	May 17: “In a good place. Starting to run around [but] not with the team. Progressing, so we are quietly positive and optimistic. I think [it’s] going to be pre-season.”	No Return Date	None	Ruled Out
Joel Veltman	Calf/Shin/Heel Injury	May 17: “Joel it will be too soon for him, so we will be pretty much as we were in the West Ham game.”	No Return Date	None	Ruled Out
Davy Propper	Ankle/Foot Injury	May 13: “Davy rolled his ankle. This game probably comes too soon.”	No Return Date	None	Ruled Out
Tariq Lamptey	Thigh Injury	May 17: “In a good place. Starting to run around [but] not with the team. Progressing, so we are quietly positive and optimistic. I think [it’s] going to be pre-season.”	No Return Date	None	Ruled Out
Danny Welbeck	Thigh Injury	May 21: “Danny has a hamstring injury. Obviously the game is too soon for him. He will take the break for the summer and then try and be back for pre-season.”	No Return Date	None	Ruled Out

The Head to Heads and the dirty lucre 

We’ve only played Brighton and Hove 22 times overall, winning 13, losing just five.  They were founded in June 1901, after two earlier clubs in the area had failed, the club replacing one of those previous ventures in the Southern League.  They reached the top league in 1979 for the first time, and the cup final in 1979,

After difficult times and a couple of stadium moves they moved into the Amex stadium in Falmer in 2011.  But the dominant feature now about Brighton is the state of their finances.