Arsenal have the opportunity to re-instate their six-point lead at the summit of the Premier League when they make the short trip across the capital to Brentford on Thursday evening. However, Mikel Arteta’s men could find the going tough against their in-form opponents.
The Bees made a shaky start to the campaign following the departure of long-serving manager Thomas Frank, but are now fully adjusted to the coaching methodologies of Keith Andrews. They have now won six of their last ten league fixtures, with two of these triumphs coming at difficult venues over the past ten days. After an impressive 1-0 win over title-chasing Aston Villa in Birmingham, Brentford edged past Newcastle United in a five-goal thriller at St. James’ Park.
Ahead of this week’s round of fixtures, the West Londoners found themselves level on points with Liverpool in seventh position.
Meanwhile, Arsenal have responded well since incurring their first home defeat of the campaign at the end of January. The Gunners had only been beaten on two previous occasions all season prior to that 3-2 loss to Manchester United, while maintaining a 100% record in Europe and across both cup competitions. However, two commanding performances against Leeds and Sunderland have put them firmly back on track in their quest to secure a long-awaited Premier League title.
Mikel Arteta’s men boast the best away record in the division by some distance, having registered their seventh victory and sixth clean sheet on the road earlier this month.
Brentford vs. Arsenal: Injuries and Predicted Line-ups
Both managers are unable to call upon the services of several key players, but Mikel Arteta’s injury woes are the more extensive.
Keith Andrews is without the suspended Kevin Schade after the German received a two-match suspension for his kick-out at Matty Cash, while on-loan winger Reiss Nelson is not allowed to feature against his parent club.
Kevin Schade of Brentford is shown a red card by referee Tim Robinson during the Premier League match between Aston Villa and Brentford at Villa Park on February 01, 2026 in Birmingham, England. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)
Brentford injuries: Fábio Carvalho (cruciate ligament), Antoni Milambo (cruciate ligament), Josh Dasilva (groin)
Brentford potential line-up (4-2-3-1): Caoimhin Kelleher (GK); Michael Kayode, Sepp van den Berg, Kristoffer Ajer, Rico Henry; Jordan Henderson, Vitaly Janelt; Dango Ouattara, Mathias Jensen, Keane Lewis-Potter; Igor Thiago
Arsenal injuries: Martin Ødegaard (doubt – unspecified), Bukayo Saka (doubt – hip), Leandro Trossard (doubt – calf), Max Dowman (ankle), Mikel Merino (foot)
Arsenal potential line-up (4-3-3): David Raya (GK); Jurrien Timber, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhães, Riccardo Calafiori; Eberechi Eze, Martín Zubimendi, Declan Rice; Noni Madueke, Viktor Gyökeres, Gabriel Martinelli
Brentford vs. Arsenal: Head-to-Head Record and Prediction
Brentford’s first-ever Premier League victory came against the Gunners, when they registered a 2-0 triumph on the opening day of the 2021/22 campaign. One of the goal scorers on that landmark occasion was Danish midfielder Christian Nørgaard, who has only made 13 appearances for Arsenal since arriving at the Emirates in the summer. The Bees have failed to win any of their subsequent eight Premier League contests with Thursday’s opponents.
The 13-time English champions generally enjoy playing at the Gtech, having won each of their last three Premier League outings there by an aggregate scoreline of 7-1.
This season’s first meeting between these two teams ended 2-0 to the home side, as an early Mikel Merino header and Bukayo Saka’s injury-time strike ensured Arsenal clinched a valuable three points.
Prediction: Brentford 1-2 Arsenal
This will undoubtedly be a difficult test for the league leaders. Brentford are currently in confident spirits following a sequence of strong results, and have only lost twice on home soil this term.
Only Manchester City have netted more Premier League goals than Arsenal so far, while Brentford are the seventh-top scorers in the division. Therefore, we could be in for a high-scoring affair on Thursday evening, although the Gunners’ watertight defence isn’t in the habit of giving too much away.
Brentford have the potential to run their opponents close, but another typically efficient Arsenal performance may prove too much for the hosts to handle.