Arsenal will have revenge on their minds when they welcome Brentford to the Emirates Stadium on Saturday. The Gunners were beaten 2-0 by the promoted side in their opening game of the 2021-22 Premier League season.
Mikel Arteta‘s side have recovered from their disastrous start though and currently find themselves in sixth place, four points behind fourth-placed Manchester United but with three games in hand.
Arsenal have won five of their last seven league games, and with teams around them stuttering, the London club are in pole position to secure a top-four spot.
Brentford, meanwhile, have stagnated after a bright start. The Bees have lost six of their last seven games in all competitions and have slipped to 14th in the league.
Arsenal Team News
Arsenal will be without Gabriel Martinelli, who was red-carded in the 1-0 win against Wolves last time out. Takehiro Tomiyasu has returned to training and could feature.
Bernd Leno has recovered from COVID-19 and will make the squad.
Predicted Arsenal Lineup vs Brentford (4-2-3-1)
Goalkeeper
Aaron Ramsdale will start in goal for Arsenal. The England shot-stopper has kept 11 clean sheets in the league so far and was instrumental in their win against Wolves, making a number of smart saves.
Defenders
Gabriel and Ben White will continue their partnership in the middle of the Arsenal defence. White struggled on his Arsenal debut in the reverse fixture, but he has since found his feet and formed a great understanding with Gabriel.
Kieran Tierney will maintain his spot at left-back. Arsenal lean heavily on Tierney going forward and against a Brentford team that like to push up the pitch, the Scotland international should find himself in plenty of space to do some damage.
Tomiyasu is pushing for a start, but Arteta is unlikely to risk the Japan international, which means Cedric Soares will continue at right-back.
Midfielders
Thomas Partey appears to be finding his best form after a slow start to his Arsenal career. The Ghanaian will partner Granit Xhaka in central midfield.
Martin Odegaard will continue in the No. 10 role. Like Partey, Odegaard has found his feet after initially struggling with the pace and physicality of the Premier League. The Norwegian will be tasked with driving Arsenal forward and unlocking the Brentford defence.
Predicted Arsenal Lineup vs Brentford
With Martinelli suspended, Emile Smith Rowe will likely start on the left. The Englishman is Arsenal’s top-scorer this season with eight goals, but he hasn’t netted in his last four games.
Bukayo Saka is still only 20, but he has already developed into one of Arsenal’s most important players. His pace and trickery make him extremely difficult to deal with, and he will relish the prospect of running at the likes of Ethan Pinnock and Rico Henry.
Attackers
Arsenal really have only two options in attack following Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s departure — Eddie Nketiah and Alexandre Lacazette. Nketiah has never really made a mark when given an opportunity, while Lacazette has impressed, to an extent, this season. The Frenchman will lead the line once again and will hope to get on the scoresheet, having failed to do so in his last six games.
