Arsenal vs Brentford Premier League preview: How to watch, lineups, top four & prediction

Another long wait is almost over for supporters as Arsenal return to Premier League action when they host Brentford at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday. Here is the match preview.

It’s been quite the week for Mikel Arteta’s side despite only featuring once since the winter break concluded, with results around them presenting the ideal opportunity to boost their Champions League ambitions on Saturday.

With Tottenham losing at home to both Southampton and Wolves they extended their losing run to three matches, which for all the world looks like becoming a fourth as they’re away at champions-elect Manchester City next.

Manchester United bounced back, fortuitously, of course, from two consecutive league draws with a home win over Brighton, although their results still paid Arsenal a huge favour in the run-in. West Ham could also only draw with Leicester in what was yet another helpful result to the Gunners.

https://twitter.com/BrentfordFC/status/1494275542736068608

Arsenal vs Brentford Premier League preview: Saturday’s Emirates Stadium clash presents fine top four opportunity for Mikel Arteta’s side

But it’s all about focusing on one’s own matches. Never before has the classic manager line of ‘taking one game at a time’ ran truer. With no other competitions to contend with it is now a 16-game season up until May 22. And that restarts with Brentford.

Managers and players alike tend to veer away from the idea of games having a tinge of revenge about them, whereas for supporters it is unavoidable. That opening day defeat under the Friday floodlights still hurts, even more so when you factor in that those three points were one of only six wins the Bees would manage between then and the reverse meeting.

Thomas Frank’s side have won only one of their last eight top-flight matches, while on the road they’ve claimed the spoils on just two occasions all campaign.

They look relatively comfortable as far as relegation is concerned with a seven point gap between themselves and 18th position, but they’re not out of the woods just yet. Meanwhile, Arsenal know victory here would do wonder for their top four ambitions.

It should be a tasty encounter at the Emirates Stadium.

How to Watch on TV

When Is Kick Off? Saturday 19 February
What Time Is Kick Off? 15:00 (GMT)
Where Is it Played? Emirates Stadium
TV Channel/Live Stream? Not on UK TV (UK) fuboTV (USA)
Referee? Jonathan Moss

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Arsenal Team News vs Brentford – Will Takehiro Tomiyasu be Fit?

Battling to a 1-0 win over Wolves last time out, the first match following the end of the January transfer window, it was interesting to see the squad pretty much in its entirety at Molineux.

Reducing the numbers down to just 20, any one absence from the senior group sees an academy star come in. On this occasion just two couldn’t make it up to the midlands, with Zachariah Olumide Awe and Arthur Okonkwo taking the spare places on the bench.

The two they replaced were Bernd Leno and Takehiro Tomiyasu, with the latter of those being the big worry for Arteta ahead of Saturday’s London derby.

Leno was absent with Covid and is expected to recover, while the first choice right-back is still touch and go despite being pictured training at London Colney.

He was on his own and hasn’t linked up with the rest of the group yet, and even if he’s 85% fit it would be foolish to risk him now, especially off the back of Cedric Soares putting in his best performance of the season in his stead. Aside from injury worries, Gabriel Martinelli will serve his one-game suspension for his sending off against Wolves.

As for the visitors, Frank could include Christian Eriksen after the Dane played in a behind-closed-doors friendly against alongside Josh Dasilva. Meanwhile, Ivan Toney is expected to return from a calf injury that kept him out of the past two matches.

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Arsenal Predicted Lineup to Face Brentford – Who Replaces Martinelli?

Arsenal: Ramsdale; Cedric, White, Gabriel, Tierney; Partey, Xhaka, Saka, Odegaard, Smith Rowe; Lacazette

Brentford: Raya; Ajer, Jansson, Pinnock; Roerslev, Onyeka, Norgaard, Janelt, Henry; Toney, Mbeumo

Arsenal vs Brentford Score Prediction

Despite being told that they shouldn’t celebrate a victory against a top four rival having been reduced to ten men for the final 20 minutes, Arsenal will be buoyed by the manner of their three points at Molineux.

It’s a tough ground at the best of times, so to do so by scoring the only first half goal Wolves have conceded in 14 matches on top of being up against it with ten men makes it extra sweet. The team should be brimming with confidence.

All the while, Brentford won’t be.

They are in no form whatsoever with their impressive early season performances fizzling out as teams come to grips with their style. Gradually they’re dropping deeper and deeper, while their swift counter-attacks have lost their bite and invention.

Getting Ivan Toney back will be a big boost to them as his tendency to drop deep and facilitate is crucial to how they retain the ball and build through the thirds, while there may also be a wonderful welcome back to the pitch for Christian Eriksen, who everyone in the football world is delighted to see back doing what he does.

Preferably, however, he won’t repeat what he did last time he played a Premier League match at Arsenal: score a goal in a 2-2 draw.

There will be no Martinelli for Arsenal but it shouldn’t be a detrimental loss with Smith Rowe waiting in the wings, and the team Arteta puts out should have more than enough to seal victory. If Arsenal want to be finishing in the top four then nothing less than three points will suffice. You absolutely can’t slip up in matches at home to sides languishing near the bottom.

Score Prediction: Arsenal 3-0 Brentford