Arsenal will welcome Brentford to the Emirates this Saturday for the 26th round of the 2021/22 Premier League season.
Venue: Emirates Stadium (London)
Key Statistics
Arsenal have kept eleven clean sheets in the Premier League this season.
The Gunners have collected 15 red cards under Mikel Arteta’s management.
They have won only one of their last six games in all competitions (D2, L3).
Brentford are winless in their last seven games (D1, Ll6).
They have failed to score in their last two games.
The visitors have lost their last four away games in all competitions.
Head to head
Brentford won the only Premier League meeting between both sides.
Latest performances in all competitions
Arsenal: W-D-L-D-L
Brentford: D-L-L-L-L
Arsenal
Arsenal got back to winning ways last week as they defeated Wolves 1-0 thanks to a scrappy goal by Brazilian defender Gabriel.
The win was the Gunners’ first win of the new year and ended a run of five games without a win (D2, L3). But the game also saw them reduced to ten, the 15th time that was happening under Mikel Arteta.
They will now hope to make it two wins in two games when they welcome London-based Brentford to the Emirates Stadium. The Bees defeated Arsenal in the reverse fixture thanks to a Sergi Canos goal.
Arteta’s side will be desperate to avenge that loss in this game. They will also hope to get all three points to keep their top-four bid alive.
They are currently sitting in sixth place, six points behind fourth-placed Manchester United with three games in hand. A win in this game will keep them in contention for a place in this UCL next year.
With the other teams vying for the top four places also dropping points, Arteta will see this as a perfect opportunity to strengthen their position.
Possible Arsenal starting line-up
Aaron Ramsdale; Ben White, Gabriel, Kieran Tierney, Rob Holding; Granit Xhaka, Thomas Partey, Martin Odegaard; Emile Smith-Rowe, Bukayo Saka, Alexandre Lacazette.
Injured: Bernd Leno
Doubtful: None
Suspended: Gabriel Martinelli
Brentford
After losing six games in a row, Brentford finally won a point last week when they played out a goalless draw with fellow mid-table club Crystal Palace.
The visitors are struggling to recapture their early-season form and come into this tie sitting in the bottom in the form table, having picked up just one point from their last five PL games.
Their problem so far is that they do not know how to keep their defence locked for much of the game. The Bees have conceded first in a joint-league high 17 league games, subsequently resulting in being behind at the break on a league-worst 12 occasions.
To their credit, they stopped that rot in their 0-0 draw with Palace last week. However, with a terrible away record, Brentford are in danger of falling back into a huge relegation fight.
Thomas Frank’s side are winless in their last eight away league games (D2, L6) and as a result, are sitting in 14th place. Although they are still seven points ahead of 18th-placed Norwich, they cannot afford to relax, considering the form of the other relegation teams.
After winning their first-ever PL game when they beat Arsenal in the seasons’ curtain-raiser, they will fancy their chances here again.
Possible Brentford starting line-up
David Raya; Kristoffer Ajer, Pontus Jansson, Ethan Pinnock; Sergi Canos, Christian Norgaard, Frank Onyeka, Mathias Jensen, Rico Henry; Ivan Toney, Bryan Mbeumo.
Injured: Tarique Fosu, Julian Jeanvier, Mathias Jorgensen
Doubtful: Christian Eriksen
Suspended: None
Prediction
Arsenal 1-1 Brentford
