‘It’s going to be a tough game’ – Brighton boss Vidošić previews Arsenal clash

Brighton & Hove Albion head coach Dario Vidošić is anticipating a tough game against Arsenal despite The Gunners’ recent poor form.

The Seagulls travel to the Emirates Stadium to face the North Londoners on Sunday afternoon.

Arsenal are winless in four matches in all competitions but Brighton & Hove Albion boss Vidošić believes that The Gunners will still be as dangerous as ever.

“We know Arsenal possess a lot of strengths and they’re playing at the Emirates,” Vidošić said when speaking in the pre-match press conference. “They’re also on a little bit of a [bad] run of results. I don’t think they’ve been fair, they’ve been unlucky with some results. Regardless of how it’s going, they’ll always want to win at home.

“We know it’s going to be a tough game. We can take confidence from our last meeting that we can get a result. That’s a good belief to have. I think sometimes, before a game starts, it’s important to believe that you can achieve something and if we have that, we will give ourselves a chance.”

Arsenal loanees Michelle Agyemang and Rosa Kafaji are ineligible to face their parent club this weekend while Brighton & Hove Albion are also missing a couple of other attacking players. Vidošić said that he will have to adapt his forward line to cater for the absences.

He said “We will have to adapt. It’s far from ideal to lose two starters who are ineligible for the weekend’s game. We will have to adapt because we haven’t got enough to really cover the forward line pretty much. It’s not ideal but we can’t use it as an excuse, it is how it is for this round. We will adapt and try to give a great account of ourselves.”

Vidošić went on to comment on the impact made by Arsenal loanee Agyemang. While he is happy with her development, the Brighton & Hove Albion boss highlighted the fact that there’s much more to progress.

He said “There’s still a lot of room for improvement. It’d be very hard to find a 19-year-old that is complete and has not much to learn. There’s still a lot that someone with experience can learn; how defenders mark you, how you use space, hold up when you’re defending. There’s still a lot of stuff.

“There are things that you naturally learn in training; the way we like to play, the way we want to attack and also the space that we want to close down and there are other ones in the box that you learn through experience. It’s hard to say ‘this is what we are always going to do’ because the most important thing as a nine is not to be predictable but to always be there.

“We have a very young frontline, so it’s something that we are working on a lot; trying to be in the right positions, where you can affect the game and score goals, it’s something that will naturally take time.

“We are happy with her progress but there’s still a lot to progress. We understand that there’s going to be highs and lows now that a bit more expectation has been put on her shoulders. She’s been leading the line for us and there’s the expectation for her to score goals as a number nine. She’s learning to deal with new pressures and with the national team, it’s a lot for a young player to take on. We are just trying to get her to focus on her football, focus on her development and just enjoy it.”

Brighton & Hove Albion’s Barclays Women’s Super League fixture at Arsenal kicks-off at 2.30pm on Sunday afternoon.