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

[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.

[HCZ_Reborn]

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.

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.