Arsenal v Brentford Preview

On Saturday we face off against Brentford as we look to sustain our incredible form and continue our challenge for the Premier League title.

Having played them twice this season and winning in both games, Mikel Arteta will look to complete the treble over the Bees. It’s been a disappointing campaign for them so far, finding themselves down in 15th and just a mere six points away from the relegation zone.

In terms of recent form, both sides contrast massively. Whilst the gunners are making history with seven consecutive league wins, Brentford have recently been dismal. With just three wins from their last 18 games, it is without question that the Bees are massive underdogs going into the game. However, they will look to bring a fight to the Emirates, and with some of their key players, can cause Arsenal problems.

How to watch:

TV channel: The game will be broadcast on Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Ultra HDR. Coverage starts at 5pm GMT ahead of a 5.30pm kick-off.

Live stream:

Subscribers will be able to watch on a live stream via the Sky Go app.

How to watch anywhere with VPN

If you are abroad, you may need to use a virtual private network (VPN) in order to watch games using your usual streaming service. A VPN, such as NordVPN, allows you to establish a secure connection online when streaming.

Brentford players to watch: Ivan Toney and Christian Nørgaard 

Of course it’s striker Ivan Toney who will most likely be the man to cause Arsenal problems. The tall and physical powerhouse of the Brentford attack can play in a pairing or as a sole man up front. His completeness as a forward has helped him be reputed by many as one of the best strikers in the league. Given his talents, it’s no wonder why he has been and still is heavily linked towards an Arsenal transfer. Perhaps for this reason he may be more motivated to perform on Saturday, and show the Emirates his credentials as a player in the prospect of a potential move next season.

Christian Nørgaard is the spine of the Brentford team and is extremely trusted by manager Thomas Frank, having played in 25 of the 27 league games this season. Playing as the central role in what can be a 5-man midfield at times, the Danishman is extremely influential over the Brentford play in more ways than one, deputising as their captain in Ivan Toney’s absence. If Arsenal want to dominate against Brentford, we need to keep Nørgaard as uninvolved as possible.

On the other side of the table, a free-flowing Arsenal team looks to win their seventh straight league game in a row and continue our challenge for the title. In fact, if we have an opportunity to go top of the league briefly because we play our match a day earlier. Our rivals Manchester City and Liverpool actually play each other at Anfield on Sunday - if that result is a draw and we win against Brentford, we will top the league going into the intentional break. This is one of the many reasons why it is so important that we get the victory this week. 

Team News

Big news in terms of our goalkeeper David Raya, who is ineligible to play against Brentford because he is on loan from them. This means that Aaron Ramsdale is set to make a return to the starting lineup on Saturday. With David Raya becoming the starting keeper this season, and Ramsdale being benched for him, could this be the last time we see him in an Arsenal shirt?

Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli, who both came off early against Sheffield United, are expected to be available. Arteta spoke, "We had Martinelli and Bukayo with little issues. We're pretty positive that hopefully they can be part of that. But we'll have to see how they feel."

Jurrien Timber, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Takehiro Tomiyasu are not expected to make the squad on Saturday, meaning that Jakub Kiwior is likely to make his eighth consecutive appearance. Both Gabriel Jesus and Thomas Partey came off from the bench last time out against Sheffield United, and we should expect them to play a role in this match too.

Predicted XIs:

Arsenal: Ramsdale, White, Saliba, Gabriel, Kiwior, Rice, Jorginho, Ødegaard, Saka, Havertz, Martinelli

Brentford: Flekken, Reguilon, Collins, Ajer, Zanka, Roerslev, Janelt, Nørgaard, Onyeka, Wissa, Toney

Prediction: Arsenal 4-1 Brentford

With the respective forms of each team and the home advantage for Arsenal, I think the gunners will prevail, controlling the game with Brentford looking to counter attack. I think we will make it our seventh league win in a row and set ourselves up nicely going into the international break.

Head to Head (H2H) (all competitions since 1902)

P: 19 

W: 8

D: 5

L: 6

Brentford's only win against Arsenal in the past 10 meetings was by 2-0 at home in their first Premier League encounter in August 2021 (D2, L7).

The Bees are aiming to win an away match against Arsenal for the first time in six attempts since April 1938.