Mikel Arteta confirms triple Arsenal injury boost for Brighton clash as Declan Rice, Martin Odegaard updates delivered

Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta has confirmed a triple injury boost for his side ahead of Wednesday's Premier League showdown with Brighton & Hove Albion at the Amex.

The Gunners travel south aiming to maintain or increase their five-point lead over Manchester City at the top of the Premier League table, having survived a huge scare to overcome Chelsea 2-1 in Sunday's derby.

The victory against the 10-man Blues came at a slight cost, though, as Declan Rice was in visible discomfort during the second half, while goalkeeper David Raya also required treatment late on.

Skipper Martin Odegaard was ruled out before kickoff after the knee injury he sustained against Brentford flared up, while Ben White's knock also kept the right-back out of the visit of Liam Rosenior's side.

Speaking to reporters ahead of the fixture, Arteta was at least able to deliver positive updates on Rice and Raya, while also confirming that Max Dowman is available for selection once again.

Arsenal receive positive Declan Rice injury update before Brighton

On Rice, the Spaniard said: "I hope so. He was much better today. Obviously, we haven't really trained because we have only two days to prepare the game. So, hopefully, it's going to be better tomorrow."

Asked about Raya's condition, the Gunners boss replied: "Yes, David is good. Good to go," before also declaring Dowman available, following the 16-year-old's comeback from an ankle injury with the Under-21s.

However, the Arsenal manager refused to confirm whether Odegaard would be able to face Fabian Hurzeler's side, while also revealing that White would miss a third game on the bounce due to his knock.

Meanwhile, Kai Havertz was a late substitute against Chelsea following his recovery from a muscular problem, but Arteta also stopped short of declaring the Germany international totally ready for the midweek fixture.

"So he's done a part of the session, we will have to wait and see whether he's available and in which condition. The rest I don’t think there will be anybody else," Arteta added.

Havertz and Dowman were both pictured in team training on Tuesday, but Odegaard and Rice were not seen on the London Colney pitches.

Mikel Arteta responds to Arsenal set-piece criticism

Rice provided the assist for Jurrien Timber's winner on Sunday, the 16th goal that Arsenal have scored from a corner in the 2025-26 Premier League season, tying the record for the most in one campaign in the competition.

The Gunners' set-piece excellence has reignited criticism of their tactics, in particular from Brighton boss Hurzeler, who took aim at the length of time the league leaders take to restart the game from corners and throw-ins.

Arteta brushed off negative assessments of his side's set-piece mastery but admitted that he has still been left "upset" by his side not scoring more from dead-ball situations, as well as conceding from Reece James's delivery on Sunday.

"I'm upset that we don't score more and that we concede as well," Arteta responded. "So, we want to be the best and the most dominant team in every aspect of the game, and that's the trajectory and the aim of this team, and as a club, we want to be the same, so we try to do that."

Statistics from Opta show that Arsenal have taken an average of 44.4 seconds to restart matches from corners, the longest of any team in the division, while Chelsea take the shortest average time with 30.8 seconds.