4 talking points ahead of Brentford vs Arsenal

Arsenal travel to face Brentford on New Year's Day as they look to begin 2025 with a London derby win.

The Gunners secured a straightforward but not overly convincing 1-0 win over Ipswich in their previous outing. Kai Havertz netted the only goal of the game with his side failing to extend their advantage despite completely dominating their East Anglian opponents.

As Arsenal look to start the new year with a convincing victory away to a London rival, there are four key talking points ahead of this cross-capital clash.

1. Starting 2025 with a win

Arsenal's trip to Brentford is both their first and the Premier League's first game of 2025, and they must mark it with a win.

As the Gunners look to keep up with Liverpool in a title race that is slowly slipping away, starting the year with a win is crucial. It will show their rivals that they are capable of maintaining their recent form heading into the new year.

A win in their opening game of 2025 will also allow Arsenal to start a similar run to the one they went on from the beginning of 2024 in which they went so close to winning the Premier League title. Starting the year with a win will almost banish any thoughts of their previous slip-ups this season and put them on the path to giving Liverpool some serious competition for the league title.

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