Brentford vs Arsenal: Mikel Arteta's Gunners to Get Back to Winning Ways
Sunday 18th September - 12:00
The work Thomas Frank has put in as Brentford’s boss should never be underplayed. The German boss has taken a side to the top flight for the first time since 1947 and has kept the West London club well clear of the drop zone ever since.
Frank works on something of a shoestring budget, and that makes his success all the more worthy of credit. They face Arsenal this weekend and will hope for a repeat of the display that saw the Bees ease past the Gunners in the first game of the last campaign.
Brentford won 2-0 that day, but they’ll face an altogether different proposition when Mikel Arteta’s side makes the short trip to face their London rivals.
Flying High
Arsenal did some great business over the summer, with Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko coming in from Man City and William Saliba returning from his season-long loan spell at Marseille.
Two other additions, Fabio Viera and Marqinhos have impressed in Europa League action but are not quite there yet in terms of getting a decent amount of Premier League playing time.
Arsenal bagged five wins from five before they made the trip to Old Trafford a couple of weeks ago, and though Arteta’s side put in a solid display and controlled the game for long periods, they still fell to their first defeat of the season, losing 3-1 to a rejuvenated Man United side.
The youthful squad Arteta has assembled are now well organized and capable of fighting for a place back in the Premier League top four, and the start they have achieved has even led some to believe that Arsenal may even be genuine title challengers, though that is perhaps a bit of a stretch at this juncture.
They’ll be looking to get a win from their visit to Brentford, such is the upward trajectory of Arsenal’s progress, but it won’t be an easy game for the visitors by any stretch of the imagination.
Work Ethic
If you look at Brentford’s squad in terms of the individuals that make up the playing staff available to Thomas Frank, you wouldn’t necessarily see them as players that could keep a team not just clear of the Premier League relegation zone but comfortably so.
Frank’s side is, therefore, very much more than a sum of its parts. A lot of that is down to the work ethic that the former Brondby manager has instilled in his players, and his side plays the game the right way.
They are comfortable on the ball and never give up, and regularly come from behind to secure late points; in other words, they are a very tough team to overcome.
Defensively they are sound and the addition of Ben Mee, coming in on a free transfer from relegated Burnley, has helped maintain a level of consistency at the back.
Danish playmaker Mikkel Damsgaard has also joined, from Sampdoria, to offer more creativity in the final third, which is perhaps more relevant given the club failed to tempt Christian Eriksen into makin
Best Bets
Arsenal to Win 1-0, 2-0, or 2-1 - 5/2
This price boost from BoyleSports works well for this fixture, which is sure to be a fairly close one. Here your bet covers three possible results and could prove successful, with Arsenal being the favourites to triumph and Brentford to put in a solid account of themselves.
A lot will depend on how effective Arsenal’s front three will be against a Brentford side that has conceded nine in six thus far this season. Gabriel Martinelli, Gabriel Jesus, and Bukayo Saka have proven a nightmare for most defences this season, and the odds are that they’ll do so again on Sunday.
