Arsenal up against it at the Gtech…

Morning all.

This was tipped to be Arsenal’s season to win the Premier League having finished second behind Man City for the last two. Third time lucky and all that plus City were going into a difficult period away from the pitch which I know I hoped would cause problems on it. City have gone through an awful spell but instead of capitalising on it, Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal have had their own problems to deal with too. Ridiculous red cards, shocking officiating and of course, injuries.

Instead of Arsenal sitting pretty at the top of the table, it is Liverpool who have raced into a nine-point lead. Unlike ourselves and City though, they have not had to deal with injuries to key players or dodgy officiating. Yet…

A nine point lead, which if we can win today will be reduced to six, is catchable but it will take an almost perfect second half of the season to do so and we would still need Liverpool to drop points. All we can do is look after our own results and hope others go through the kind of struggles we have had over the last five months. Let us not forget, it’s not just ourselves who will be trying to overtake Liverpool because City, Forest and Chelsea are still in the battle to finish top.

Today, for our first fixture of 2025, Mikel Arteta and his players take the short trip across London to face Brentford at the Gtech Stadium. The club are going through a bit of an injury crisis themselves with Ben Mee, Ethan Pinnock Kristoffer, Igor Thiago, Gustavo Nunes, Rico Henry, Aaron Hickey and Josh Dasilva all ruled out of this game and their goalkeeper Mark Flekken, is a doubt.

Arsenal have a few injuries still, Ben White, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Raheem Sterling and Bukayo Saka.

What to expect from Thomas Frank’s side?

Arsenal’s Adrian Clarke:

Frank switches his style and formations regularly. He’s gone with a back four in 14 of their 18 matches, but reverted to five at the back at Manchester City, Tottenham and Chelsea, as well as against Newcastle at home.

Brentford are the best finishers in the division, converting 17% of their chances, and much of that is down to star forwards Bryan Mbeumo (34%) and Yoane Wissa (33%) who are ranked first and second among players who have scored at least five times. Wissa is an adaptable and expert finisher from close range, while Mbeumo, cutting inside from the right has one of the deadliest left feet in the Premier League. Outside of the stellar forwards, attacking midfielder Mikkel Damsgaard has five assists to his name and is proving to be a terrific all-round attacking midfielder. In addition to creating the second-highest number of chances for Brentford, he also ranks second for tackles and duels won. He is technically excellent, but also full of industry.

They are not brilliant on the counter, registering just four shots from fast breaks – the lowest figure of all 20 top-flight teams. So, their main threat will come from transitions higher up the pitch, and from sweeping moves in the wide areas. The Bees have won the greatest number of aerial duels in 2024/25 so aiming hopeful crosses into the box is unadvisable. However I would anticipate us having a relatively large share of possession, and as Mark Flekken has been forced into more saves than any other custodian, I expect us to fashion plenty of opportunities.

I’ve not watched Brentford this season but Bryan Mbeumo has been a bit of a handful before this campaign, Yoane Wissa too, especially following the departure of Ivan Toney. Both players could cause us problems if we’re not focused, and from the off. Mikkel Damsgaard sounds like Brentford’s version of Martin Odegaard so it could be a battle of the midfield creators. A battle of the defences too by the sounds of it.

It’s going to be a tough match I’m sure as Brentford’s home record during the first five months of this campaign has been very good. They have scored a joint highest number of goals and secured as many, if not more points than any other club in the league.

It might be a new year but I’m sure like every other fan, I’d like to see a bit of the old Arsenal. The one which returned from Dubai last January and started the second half of the season strong. Very strong.

Happy New Year to you and your loved ones, hope 2025 brings joy, peace and good health. Thank you all for your contributions to Highbury House for the last year too. Without you, this place would have folded years ago. And to the man behind the scenes who keeps the site running smoothly, I thank you wholeheartedly.

Catch up in the comments.