Brentford vs Arsenal

Mikel Arteta will be looking to celebrate his 200th game in charge with a win when Arsenal take on Brentford in an all-London Premier League fixture at the Gtech Community Stadium.

November’s international break has given Brentford plenty of time to recover from a 3-0 demolition at the hands of Liverpool that knocked them down from a three-game winning streak in the Premier League. Bettering last season’s 9th-place finish is a tall order, yet the home side’s evenly-poised 12-game league record (W4, D4, L4) keeps them only three points adrift of 8th-placed Brighton. After an underwhelming four-game winless home league start (D3, L1), Thomas Frank’s men have netted precisely three goals in back-to-back top-flight outings at the Gtech Stadium en route to dispatching Burnley and West Ham. A sensational second-half comeback against the latter extended Brentford’s formidable unbeaten run in the Premier League London derbies to 14 (W8, D6), giving home fans every reason for enthusiasm ahead of this blockbuster.

However, the hosts should approach this clash with cautious optimism after going winless in their last three Premier League encounters against Arsenal (D1, L2) since a 2-0 win in their first-ever EPL meeting in August 2021. Arteta’s side headed into the international break off a 3-1 home triumph over whipping boys Burnley, maintaining a one-point deficit on pacesetters Manchester City. Yet, Arsenal’s away form has dwindled after a three-game winning league start on the road, with the ‘Gunners’ going winless on their last two Premier League travels (D1, L1). Scoring might be an issue here, considering the former English champions have bagged under 1.5 goals in three of their five away league games this season.