Arsenal will take on Brentford in front of an Emirates crowd that witnessed a remarkable performance in the UEFA Champions League earlier this week.
Arsenal, who face Brentford up next, put in their best display of the season so far as they destroyed Real Madrid in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League quarter-finals. Two tremendous Declan Rice free-kicks in the second half took everyone by surprise, but those strikes only asserted the fact that the Gunners were the dominant force.
Mikel Merino added a third soon after the second free-kick, and the Gunners dominated the reigning Champions League holders from start to finish. Mikel Arteta must focus his efforts on matters in the Premier League on Saturday, as his charges host Brentford.
The Gunners probably missed a small opportunity to close the enormous gap on Liverpool at the top with an eventful yet controversial draw against Everton away from home. A dodgy decision to give the Toffees a penalty cancelled out Leandro Trossard’s first-half strike. Arteta will now want to continue on the momentum from midweek and get a win over the Bees to cement their stronghold on the second spot.
Thomas Frank will have realistically managed the team into the usual place in the Premier League standings, as Brentford sit comfortably in a mid-table position. The Bees are nine points away from the nearest European position, while they have a more than comfortable gap to the relegation battlers.
Brentford would ideally want to finish as high as possible in the standings, and Frank could realistically target a top-half finish in the seven games remaining. The Bees did manage to keep Chelsea at bay last weekend with their goalless draw, although they only have one win in their last five Premier League games.
The Arsenal game probably represents the toughest of their last seven outings in the season, and Frank could potentially target a comfortable end to the campaign for Brentford. Their loss to the Gunners at the Gtech Community Stadium on New Year’s Day made it seven games without a win over the North Londoners since defeating them on the opening night of the 2021/22 season.
Team News & Tactics
Arsenal
Mikel Arteta is expected to rotate his pack once again similar to last weekend, as the Gunners boss would focus his efforts on the midweek clash with Real Madrid. Hence, the Spaniard could make even bigger changes compared to last weekend, although he will still put out a competitive side to get a result against Brentford.
There will be those he would ideally keep in the team as Martin Odegaard and Mikel Merino will have a place in the lineup unless Arteta has other plans. The likes of Declan Rice, Thomas Partey, Gabriel Martinelli, and Bukayo Saka are all expected to start on the bench, while Myle Lewis-Skelly could also find himself there.
Ben White might relieve Jurrien Timber for a start at right-back, while Kieran Tierney might start at left-back, where Oleksandr Zinchenko is also an option to consider.
William Salba and Jakub Kiwior will continue in the backline to keep building their promising partnership, while David Raya will retain his place between the sticks. Arteta could name an altogether changed front three, as Leandro Trossard could lead the line for Arsenal against Brentford alongside Ethan Nwaneri and Raheem Sterling on either side.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Raya; Ben White, Saliba, Kiwior, Tierney; Odegaard, Jorginho, Merino; Nwaneri, Trossard, Sterling
Brentford
Brentford fans will have loved the sight of Rico Henry being part of the matchday squad, although the long-term absentee is not expected to start against Arsenal. Keane Lewis-Potter is expected to start there, and Thomas Frank will go with a back four as opposed to three central defenders.
Meanwhile, there are still some key absentees, with Fabio Carvalho, Igor Thiago and Joshua Dasilva all set to be sidelined for this short trip across London. Gustavo Nunes and Aaron Hickey might make the matchday squad, as the duo is close to returning to full fitness, although neither is expected to start against Arsenal.
Frank will have a familiar setup in front of the defence, with Christian Norgaard, Vitaly Janelt and Mikkel Damsgaard set to take up the midfield roles. Kevin Schade and Bryan Mbeumo will support Yoane Wissa in the final third, as the trio will hope to trouble the Arsenal defence to some degree.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Flekken; Ajer, Collins, Van den Berg, Lewis-Potter; Norgaard, Janelt; Mbeumo, Damsgaard, Schade; Wissa
Key Stats
- Arsenal are undefeated in 20 of their last 21 matches in the Premier League.
- Arsenal have won six of their last seven matches against Brentford in all competitions.
- Brentford have one win in their last five Premier League games.
- Brentford are winless in their last seven games against Arsenal in the Premier League.
Player to Watch
Martin Odegaard
The Gunners captain has not had the best of seasons, as an early injury this term probably put the brakes on where he was getting to. In any case, while many believe he had a quiet game against Real Madrid, his ideas did cause the Merengues some problems, and Mikel Arteta will want him in top gear when they visit the Bernabeu next week.
Odegaard may be a bit more short of absolute sharpness, and he will have to lead a much-changed lineup against Brentford at the weekend. This is a game for him to showcase his absolute talent and silence some of those doubters, and all eyes will be on him at the Emirates, especially with the other stars expected to stay on the bench.
Prediction
Arsenal 2-1 Brentford
Brentford are not in their best of form and have more or less struggled away from home. They are now about to meet a team that put three past the formidable Real Madrid without any reply, although the Gunners’ change in lineup might see them concede against the Bees at some stage.
Even without the usual attackers, Arsenal are still expected to collect all three points at the Emirates despite the ex[pectation of a much-changed lineup. While Mikel Arteta will have his focus on next week’s Champions League clash in Madrid, he will not want to give up the second spot in the Premier League just yet.
