Morning all.
Man City won their home game against Fulham last night so the gap at the top is down to three points. Third place Villa won their match so now it’s over to Arsenal. How will Mikel Arteta and his players respond tonight is the question going through my head.
I think this is one of the toughest fixtures for many clubs at this stage of this season because Brentford are in form. Last month, they despatched Sunderland and Everton with relative ease. This month they have beaten Newcastle Utd and Aston Villa away from home. Igor Thiago, with his 17 goals so far this season has the second best conversion percentage in the league, just 1% behind Bournemouth’s Junior Kroupi. Thiago is a player I’d love to see Arsenal sign.
Brentford are about more than just the 6’ 3” Thiago though, they are pretty solid from front to back although they do concede goals as they did in their last home game against Nottingham Forest, one of only two defeats suffered in front of their home fans this season.
It’s another tough game. We know [Brentford] at home as well, the last few results they have had, the coaching staff have been amazing. So, credit to them, because they’re a top side – Mikel Arteta.
Arsenal’s Adrian Clarke:
The Bees unashamedly play a percentage style of football, and it is working brilliantly for them. No top-flight team knocks the ball longer, but their distribution is usually both accurate and purposeful, while a strong emphasis on set plays sees right-back Michael Kayode especially threatening with long throws.
It will be interesting to see which formation Brentford opt for in this encounter. They switched to 5-3-2 in the reverse fixture, but have been performing very well in a 4-2-3-1, a shape that allows winger Ouatarra to use his pace.
Brentford have created 76 ‘big chances’, a tally which puts them one ahead of us, and two behind Manchester City, which is seriously impressive, with Thiago working insatiably hard to put defenders under pressure. Boasting strong running power, good aerial ability and sharp movement inside the box, the clinical Brazilian has been a revelation in 2025/26, netting 17 times.
Going forward, Brentford are sure to be dangerous, but when put under pressure, their rearguard is not always watertight, and they have failed to keep a clean sheet in nine of their 12 home games.
As far as player availability goes, it’s bad news for Arsenal as Kai Havertz is reported to have suffered a muscular injury during training which not only rules him out for tonight’s game but the next few games too. Mikel Arteta didn’t mention this in press conference yesterday but David Ornstein reported it later in the day.
Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka are doubts, Max Dowman and Mikel Merino are ruled out although Dowman could be back in a week or two.
Brentford forward Kevin Schade serves the second match of his three game suspension after a straight red card in the 1-0 win at Villa Park, while Reiss Nelson is ineligible. Ex Arsenal player, Josh Dasilva remains sidelined with a knee ligament issue, and both Fabio Carvalho and Antoni Milambo are out for the rest of the season.
If Havertz and Odegaard are out of tonight’s game then surely there’s even more reason to bring Ethan Nwaneri back to the club, especially with Saka on the sidelines too. Right now we’re down to Eberechi Eze as our attacking midfielder and without sounding too harsh, he’s not really set the Arsenal world alight. Yet.
Catch up in the comments.
Good morning Rico, well City managed to ramp up the pressure with a convincing win over a, reportedly, lack lustre Fulham and Villa scraped three points courtesy of an own goal against Brighton. So, yet another banana skin to negotiate this evening.
I expect a cagey game against Brentford, possession will be a big part of the first half while we force the Middlesex side to chase the ball, then a second half of sustained pressure against a tiring team, with a goal or two to compliment another Raya clean sheet.
If Eze does start he needs to be on the ball right from the off and no drifting into obscurity. Time for him to show why he cost so much.
Good morning Cicero.
Set pieces and long balls are a threat according to Clarke. I think Brentford will start fast and then hopefully fade.
Agree re Eze. Apparently both Saka and Odegaard are fit.
Morning Rico,
With the Havertz injury and Saka, Odegaard and Trossard doubtful, we could be short of fire power up front tonight. Eze really needs to step up. He really feels like a “luxury” player at the moment. As for Nwaneri, with De Zerbi out the door, it would be great if we could recall him, but the agreement we have with Marseille might make that impossible.
Morning Anthony. Not sure what the agreement is with Nwaneri but if there’s a clause to bring him back, we should imo.
Agree re Eze, he’s played a bit recently but as you and others suggest, he’s played needs to start influencing games.