Arsenal vs Brentford 09/03/2024 - KO 17:30

The last time we played this lot at home, they were one of the form teams in the Premier League and we were shot for confidence because we’d just lost to Everton the previous week.


Form of both sides couldn’t be more different. The suspension of Ivan Toney didn’t do much for Brentford’s confidence, and it hasn’t improved much since he’s returned (don’t rate him…think we can/should do better in a front man)

They’ve also lost seven out of the last eight away games in the league


So obviously 0-3 Jimmy Hill hat-trick

Also, given we play a day earlier we go top with a win. And if Liverpool-City draw, we stay top

despite your attempts to hijack it, I'll still say 0-3 Toney hatter.

We should obvs win this and ideally it's another situation where we can go 3-0 or 4-0 up within 50-60 mins and rest players again, given what we have next week.

But it might not be as straightforward as some of our other recent games, I still feel we are very reliant on an early first goal to get into full stride adn if Brentford can take the game to us it could be a bit more stretching.

If CIteh don't score for 70 mins you still know they will come through, but in contrast I worry about us being able to do the same, despite some late comebacks last season.

Also Toney has bossed Saliba in the past unlike any other player I've seen.

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Originally Posted by HCZ_Reborn

Also, given we play a day earlier we go top with a win. And if Liverpool-City draw, we stay top

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Thanks, none of us knew that

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Originally Posted by Mac76

Thanks, none of us knew that

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In fairness, if I take yourself as a paradigm case. My experience has taught me never to assume what you know :d

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Originally Posted by Mac76

despite your attempts to hijack it, I'll still say 0-3 Toney hatter.

We should obvs win this and ideally it's another situation where we can go 3-0 or 4-0 up within 50-60 mins and rest players again, given what we have next week.

But it might not be as straightforward as some of our other recent games, I still feel we are very reliant on an early first goal to get into full stride adn if Brentford can take the game to us it could be a bit more stretching.

If CIteh don't score for 70 mins you still know they will come through, but in contrast I worry about us being able to do the same, despite some late comebacks last season.

Also Toney has bossed Saliba in the past unlike any other player I've seen.

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The game at their place was marked by their outright refusal to take the game to us. The reason City couldn’t score until the 70th minute was because the goalkeeper kept Brentford in it, they offered nothing bar one half chance in the first half. Plus City had the same issue breaking down Chelsea a few days earlier and Bournemouth (despite getting an early lead) a few days later

And actually even if they do come out swinging, I think it just gives us more space to counter with.

Saliba and Toney have only come up against each other twice. So in respect of bossing him, the 1-1 game despite the dodgy VAR decision…Brentford were more than worth a draw and I don’t think any player particularly had a great game that day. The reverse fixture last season, Toney was kept quiet for most of the game (from what I can remember mostly by Gabriel) so didn’t really have much of a chance to boss Saliba. So not really sure there’s anything that’s indicative of what’s to come

None of this is to say it will definitely be a walkover, Brentford could suddenly discover form that they’ve not shown in ages but recent results suggest they are more than a bit leaky defensively, and they aren’t always overly ambitious in attack.

I don’t expect this one to be comfortable, Brentford are definitely capable of making this a tough game for us even though they’ve not been as good this year.

Saying that, it would be quite unforgivable to miss the chance to gain points on at least one of City or Liverpool. So I would happily take a pub win here.

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Originally Posted by Marc Overmars

I don’t expect this one to be comfortable, Brentford are definitely capable of making this a tough game for us even though they’ve not been as good this year.

Saying that, it would be quite unforgivable to miss the chance to gain points on at least one of City or Liverpool. So I would happily take a pub win here.

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It’s all relative (as I’m sure I say a lot) will it be comfortable compared to say Sheffield United or Burnley ? No…they will offer more of a fight than that. They in fact probably have a bit more teeth from an attacking sense that most teams we’ve played in this seven game winning run

I don’t expect we will thrash them, but I’m inclined to say we should win comfortably….maybe one or two hairy moments but I would plump for 3-1

Bit nervous about this one.
I chastised Wengerbabies for declaring games “must win” early in the season.
Up till Christmas there’s no such thing really. But it’s showtime now, if we don’t win to go top today, with the other two contenders playing each other tomorrow, then it’s game over.

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Originally Posted by Letters

Bit nervous about this one.
I chastised Wengerbabies for declaring games “must win” early in the season.
Up till Christmas there’s no such thing really. But it’s showtime now, if we don’t win to go top today, with the other two contenders playing each other tomorrow, then it’s game over.

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Yeah it would be a bit of a disaster really to not win this. Which might sound silly as we’ve won the previous 7 but given the game after this is at the Etihad, we could be out of contention very quickly.