The State of Play
It has been a magnificent 2024 in the Premier League for Arsenal. They have suffered defeats in both the UEFA Champions League and the FA Cup this year but they have enjoyed seven wins out of seven in the league. They hammered Sheffield United by six goals to nil at Bramall Lane last Monday, meaning the Gunners have now scored 31 goals in those seven victories.
The visitors come into this one on the back of a 2-2 draw against Chelsea at the Gtech Community Stadium in west London, last weekend. Nicolas Jackson gave the Blues the lead in that game before goals from Mads Roerslev and Yoane Wissa and then a late equaliser scored by Axel Disasi. They begin this weekend’s round of fixtures sitting just six points above the bottom three and the relegation places.
Read our other Champions League news stories here:
Manchester City vs FC Copenhagen: Preview and prediction
Bayern Munich: Rummenigge plays down Xabi Alonso reports
Real Madrid: Camavinga claims no knowledge of Mbappe agreement
Team News
The biggest selection issue for Arsenal this weekend is the fact David Raya is ineligible to play against his parent club on Saturday. Aaron Ramsdale will be available, though, whilst Jurrien Timber is also out injure, too.
Brentford have a few key availability issues remaining for this London derby as Ben Mee is sidelined through injury alongside the likes of Rico Henry and Aaron Hickey as well as Cameroonian international forward, Bryan Mbeumo.
Expected Line-ups
Arsenal: Ramsdale; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Kiwior; Rice, Jorginho, Odegaard; Saka, Havertz, Martinelli
Brentford: Flekken; Ajer, Jorgensen, Collins; Roerslev, Jensen, Norgaard, Janelt, Reguilon; Wissa, Toney
What they Said
Mikel Arteta was keen to keep his foot down after Arsenal’s hammering of Sheffield United last week, suggesting his side ‘must maintain momentum’ ahead of the Premier League run-in.
Thomas Frank was critical of supporters who boo’d his side when they were losing 1-0 to Chelsea last week. He said: “I know I can’t swear but what the…” in reference to the criticism that the Bees players were receiving by their own supporters.
When and How to Watch
This match will be played at the Emirates Stadium at 17:30 on Saturday March 9th and will be shown live on Sky Sports in the UK. It can be streamed live via the Sky Go app in the UK.
Prediction
In this fixture last season, Arsenal were dealt a hammer blow in the title race as Brentford were wrongly awarded a goal that should have been chalked off by VAR in a game that eventually ended up as a draw. This time around, though, they head into this weekend as almost an entirely different animal with their remarkably impressive run of form up against a Brentford team desperate to come out of this long run of playing the leading clubs in the league. Another comfortable Arsenal win is to be expected at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday evening.