The Premier League is back and, Arsenal will travel to West London to play against the newly-promoted Brentford side on Friday evening.
Thomas Frank men will be playing in the top tier league for the first time since 1947 and, Arsenal will be preparing for this year’s Premier League campaign without European Football. 2020/21 Premier League season was an utter disappointment for the Arsenal as they finished 8th in two consecutive seasons in a row.
Mikel Arteta’s side has struggled in the pre-season with only two wins against Millwall and Watford among the six matches played.
The Gunners last played Brentford in a 3-1 League Cup win back in 2018 at the Emirates, which saw a brace from Danny Welbeck and a late goal by Alexandre Lacazette. Friday nights clash will be Arsenal’s first trip to Brentford since 1947.
The Bees have had an impressive pre-season with only a 1-0 defeat against West Ham United among the 5 matches played. The club’s deadly striker Ivan Toney scored 31 goals last season in the championship and will be looking to cause upset to the gunners on the opening game of the season.
WHEN AND WHERE?
Venue: Brentford Community Stadium
Date: 14 August 2021
Time: 20:00 (GMT)
Teams News
Arsenal: Thomas Partey is unlikely to be featured after an ankle injury he suffered against Chelsea. Brazilian defender Gabriel Magalhaes also has some knee issues and is expected to be on the sidelines for more than 2 weeks. Eddie Nketiah is also down with an ankle injury and will be out for a month. Rob Holding is a doubt to play against Brentford. The centre-back missed last week’s North London derby against Spurs. Mikel Arteta said in the post-match interview that he(Rob Holding) wasn’t fit enough to be selected last weekend. Gabriel Martinelli, who just returned to training this Monday, after winning a gold medal, as Brazil defeated Spain in the Olympic final, has very few chances to start the match but can hope for making it to the bench.
Injured: Thomas Partey, Gabriel Magalhaes, Eddie Nketiah.
Doubtful: Rob Holding, Gabriel Martinelli.
Suspension: None.
Brentford: The Bees will be without midfielder Josh Dasilva after he suffered a hip injury in late February. Josh hasn’t fully recovered yet and will miss the game against Arsenal. Danish international Mathias Jensen will be a doubt as he has not been fully recovered yet from a foot injury he suffered whilst playing in the Euro 2020. Ivan Toney missed Brentford’s last pre-season friendly against Valencia after he suffered a minor neck injury in training. But the manager Thomas Frank has confirmed that he has recovered from the injury and is in contention to start against Arsenal.
Injured: Josh Dasilva.
Doubtful: Mathias Jensen.
Suspension: None.
Predicted Lineup
Brentford (4-3-3)
David Raya (GK), Mads Roerslev Rasmussen, Kristoffer Ajer, Pontus Jansson, Rico Henry, Vitaly Janelt, Christian Norgaard, Frank Onyeka, Bryan Mbeumo, Ivan Toney, Sergi Canos.
Arsenal (4-2-3-1)
Bernd Leno (GK), Callum Chambers, Ben White, Pablo Mari, Kieran Tierney, Granit Xhaka, Albert Sambi Lokonga, Nicolas Pepe, Emile Smith Rowe, Bukayo Saka, Alexandre Lacazette.
