Preview: Arsenal vs. Brentford - prediction, team news, lineups

Mikel Arteta's rampant troops demolished Sheffield United 6-0 on Monday night, prior to which the Bees shared the spoils with West London neighbours Chelsea in a 2-2 stalemate.

Match preview

A few of Arsenal's top-flight rivals may now be researching mid-season jaunts to Dubai as the Gunners continue to blow Premier League defences to smithereens, making it 31 goals from seven Premier League games in 2024 during Monday's successful stopover at Bramall Lane.

The disheartened Blades faithful made a beeline for the exits just 25 minutes in, by which point Arteta's men were already four goals to the good thanks to Gabriel Martinelli, Martin Odegaard, Kai Havertz and a Jayden Bogle own goal, and their five-star showing was complete before the break thanks to Declan Rice's fine finish.

Ben White's left-footed strike - a collector's item for the right-back - rubber-stamped Arsenal's joint-biggest away win in their league history, while also seeing the Gunners become the first team in English league history to win three successive away games by at least a five-goal margin, following previous decimations of Burnley and West Ham United.

With Liverpool and Manchester City not returning to top-flight duty on Sunday - where at least one will be guaranteed to drop points in their mouthwatering Anfield battle - Arsenal will rise into first place with an eighth Premier League win on the trot on Saturday, and victory will also guarantee a second-placed ranking by the end of the week at the very worst.

Hitting Sheffield United for six also means that none of the other 19 teams can match Arsenal's unparalleled tally of 68 goals and +45 goal difference - 23 shipped at the other end was already the best record of its kind - and another emphatic triumph would represent the perfect warm-up to next week's crucial Champions League last-16 second leg versus Porto.

Six goals also flew into the back of the net during Brentford's most recent away fixture, where a 4-2 beatdown at the hands of West Ham United condemned Thomas Frank's struggling side to their third loss on the bounce in the Premier League, but the Bees briefly stopped the rot when Chelsea came to town.

Mads Roerslev's first goal of the top-flight campaign and an outrageous bicycle kick from Yoane Wissa turned the West London derby on its head following Nicolas Jackson's opener, but with 83 minutes gone, Axel Disasi arrived at the back stick to steal a point for the Blues.

Conceding two headers to Mauricio Pochettino's side spells danger before a trip to set-piece specialists Arsenal, but owing to their first Premier League draw since October 1, 15th-placed Brentford have increased their cushion over the drop zone to six points, albeit having played a game more than 18th-placed Luton Town.

The Bees' dire away form has been a major factor in their relegation predicament, as seven of their last eight top-flight games on the road have ended in defeat - the one aberration being a 2-0 success at Wolverhampton Wanderers - and it is now 28 points dropped from winning positions for Frank's men in 2023-24.

Brentford succumbed to a 1-0 loss versus Arsenal at the Gtech Community Stadium in November, but the Bees escaped from the Emirates with a 1-1 draw last February, thanks in no small part to Lee Mason's resignation-worthy VAR error. One year later, Gooners reacted with equal disdain to learn that Paul Tierney - guilty of an incorrect drop-ball decision leading to Liverpool's late winner versus Nottingham Forest - would be the man in Stockley Park this time around.

Arsenal Premier League form:

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Arsenal form (all competitions):

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Brentford Premier League form:

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Team News

Arsenal's crushing of Sheffield United saw Thomas Partey make his first appearance since October, having spent almost five months absent with a troublesome thigh problem, but neither Martinelli nor Bukayo Saka completed the full 90 minutes due to a cut to the foot and sickness respectively.

Saka will be expected to recover in time for the weekend, but it would not be a surprise to see Arteta introduce Leandro Trossard or Gabriel Jesus - yet to start since battling back from his latest knee concern - in place of Martinelli with the Porto fixture in mind.

Takehiro Tomiyasu (knock) and Oleksandr Zinchenko (calf) are also on the verge of comebacks, so ACL victim Jurrien Timber might be one of only two definite absentees for the hosts, who cannot call upon Bees-owned goalkeeper David Raya either.

Aaron Ramsdale will therefore begin against Brentford, who in contrast suffered no fresh fitness blows during their stalemate with Chelsea, but none of Frank's seven injury victims will be back in action before the international break.

Bryan Mbeumo (ankle), Kevin Schade (groin), Aaron Hickey (hamstring), Ethan Pinnock (ankle), Rico Henry (knee) and Josh Dasilva (knee) are all continuing their recoveries, and prior to the draw with the Blues, Frank delivered the devastating news that Ben Mee would miss the rest of the season with an ankle fracture sustained in the West Ham defeat.

Thanks to his astounding strike last weekend, Wissa should get the nod over Arsenal's nemesis Neal Maupay to partner Gunners-linked striker Ivan Toney, scorer of last season's contentious equaliser at the Emirates.

Arsenal possible starting lineup:

Ramsdale; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Kiwior; Odegaard, Jorginho, Rice; Saka, Havertz, Trossard

Brentford possible starting lineup:

Flekken; Zanka, Collins, Ajer; Roerslev, Janelt, Jensen, Norgaard, Reguilon; Wissa, Toney

We say: Arsenal 4-1 Brentford

An out-of-sorts Brentford side missing two of their first-choice centre-backs should not be expected to put up much of a fight against the scintillating attacking unit of Arsenal, who also have vengeance on their minds after the events of last season.

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