Preview: Arsenal back at the Emirates to face the Bees
One win in three doesn’t quite count as a wobble, particularly after just one Premier League defeat all season, but Arsenal won’t want the non-wins to become habit so a return to victory is a must as Brentford visit the Emirates.
By Karl Matchett
An almost-perfect match-up
A couple of caveats to those two recent draws for Arsenal. They were both away, and they were both against then-top-four teams, Sunderland and Chelsea. Whatever about the newly promoted side being unexpectedly high this term, they were confident and aggressive and deserved a point, but Arsenal are still keeping challengers at bay, even if they were less-than-impressive against their London rivals last time out while the sides had 11 players on the pitch. This match might just provide the perfect response, though.
The Gunners are excellent at home this term, five wins and one draw in their six games, with only two goals conceded so far. Meanwhile, Brentford’s own strength has also been on home soil – but on the road they’re joint-second worst for points gained, just one win from six attempts along with five defeats. Games like this one won’t shape the outcome of their season and there’s enough in the tank already to suggest defeat, if it comes, can be written off as a learning experience for Keith Andrews.
Returning faces at a crucial time
One big positive for Mikel Arteta when looking at the upcoming run for December and January will be the strength in depth his club has on offer, relative to rivals around him and opponents in the fixture list. While centre-back Gabriel is obviously a big miss, getting back the creativity and goals of Martin Ødegaard, Viktor Gyökeres and Gabriel Jesus over the past week or so might provide the bench boosts that would-be champions require at this time of year when the fixtures come fast and the nights come early.
Recent form
Top by two points with this fixture in hand, Arsenal are unbeaten in all competitions since the end of August. In the league it’s six wins in the last eight. For Brentford, it’s fairly patchy across the campaign as a whole as that aforementioned home:away split suggests, but it’s five wins from the last seven across all competitions so they won’t shy away from the challenge.
Team news
No Gabriel or Kai Havertz for the Gunners, with William Saliba still a doubt and Leandro Trossard needing a fitness test.
Frank Onyeka and Antoni Milambo are Brentford’s absentees, though neither would have been starters.
Key player
Given this might be a game to make changes with a trip to Aston Villa to come at the weekend, Arteta might bring Martin Ødegaard back into the lineup. He’s been way off it this season, sluggish to start and injuries since then – yet widen the lens to the past year and among Europe’s best attacking midfielders he still has more chances created than 98% of them, more shots than 95% and more touches than four in every five (83%).
Prediction
A fairly typical showing with the hosts dominant but lacking a cutting edge at times – except off set pieces: Arsenal 2 Brentford 1.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
You can follow every game from the Premier League with FotMob this season – featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.