After the dropped points away at 10 man Chelsea and Manchester City’s narrow win last night at Fulham, Arsenal know that only a win will do against Brentford at The Emirates. Arsenal will well off the pace in West London which has raised a dark cloud of sorts over the team’s form however, prior to the Chelsea game, Arsenal had taken apart Bayern Munich and Tottenham in the 7 days, scoring 7 goals in the process. Therefore Arsenal know if they put in a similar performance against the Bees at The Emirates, they should be able to get a positive result.
Areas of encouragement
Arsenal’s home form has been really good this season with a 100% record in all competitions so they will look to lean on that strong home form to get them back to winning ways. There was also some positive news on the injury front as William Saliba looks likely to make this game. Piero Hincapie and Cristhian Mosquera deputised expertly in the absence of both Saliba and Gabriel however, there is a certain calm that Saliba brings to proceedings that lifts this team to another level when he pulls on the shirt. Martin Odegaard, Viktor Gyokeres, Noni Madueke, Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli all returned to the squad in the previous two games so some, if not all, will be available to start if necessary, giving Arteta plenty of options in attack.
Areas of concern
The real concern is if Arsenal carry over their form from the Chelsea game into this one. If they do that, it’s going to be a very long evening. Brentford’s threat cannot be understated either as Igor Thiago has been in red hot form since his arrival in the summer and they are also a real handful from set pieces, so Arsenal are going to need to be strong at the back to keep them out. It has been four games without a clean sheet for Arsenal now so Arsenal need to shut up shop and start limiting the opposition to scraps again, as they were earlier in the season.
What I’d love to see
I’ve always been of the opinion that if you get the performances right, the results invariably follow, so if Arsenal show up and play to the level we know they can, everything should be fine. I’d therefore love to see a really dominant Arsenal performance, with control and calm from the start. Being greedy now, but an early goal would be brilliant as well! Just to settle things down a bit.
What I’d hate to see
I’d hate to see anything resembling that Chelsea performance creep into our performance against Brentford. That was well below the standards we have set this season and you could argue that there were also some elements of that lacklustre, sloppy play on show away at Sunderland, prior to the international break, so this is something we cannot let seep into our game.
Key Battle
Brentford are likely to pack the midfield and try and slow Arsenal down so I think the key battle is definitely going to be somewhere in the engine room. It would be an excellent time for Martin Odegaard to really announce his return to the fold so I think how he does up against the experience of Jordan Henderson, will dictate how much Arsenal are able to create, so the Captain needs to be bossing things in there from the off.
Lineup and Team News
This game has been marked as one where rotation could be brought into the selection process however, the Chelsea result might have put paid to that, as the need to return to winning ways is now absolutely essential. The Club Brugge game next week might be a more suitable game for rotation, with Arsenal in a commanding position in the Champions League, so I’d expect Mikel Arteta to hold off until then if he can. Riccardo Calafiori and Martin Zubimendi were both withdrawn with plenty of football still to play against Chelsea, so they’ve had a rest (of sorts!) so should be spared rotation for this one. Jurrien Timber is one who has played a lot of minutes lately, as his Mikel Merino, so I think those two, and possibly Declan Rice, are most likely candidates to be rested.
Arteta tried the Eze/Odegaard partnership earlier this season and I could see him giving it another go here, with Viktor Gyokeres returning up front and Madueke selected on the left wing.
From what I’ve read, William Saliba should return for this one however, it might come slightly too soon for Trossard with the Villa game on Saturday a more likely return date.
Predicted lineup:
Raya
White
Saliba
Hincapie
Calafiori
Zubimendi
Odegaard
Eze
Saka
Gyokeres
Madueke
Substitutes:
Arrizabalaga
Timber
Lewis-Skelly
Mosquera
Norgaard
Merino
Jesus
Rice
Martinelli
PREDICTION
A big statement win would be nice, but it’s not essential. Manchester City’s last two wins have looked very chaotic so I think a professional win and a clean sheet would send enough of a message that we are the dominant team in this league so I’m going for 2-0 to The Arsenal.