Match Preview: Arsenal vs Brentford

Arsenal’s victory against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Thursday night was huge for the Gunners, however, like so many games at the moment, it did come at a cost.

The win meant Mikel Arteta’s side were able to propel themselves into fifth place and put themselves a point behind West Ham United in fourth with two games in hand to play, whilst taking advantage of the slip-ups that Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur had experienced earlier in the week.

The sole goal from Gabriel was enough to give the Emirates side the three points, but Arteta witnessed his team pick up their fourth red card in six games as Gabriel Martinelli was shown two quick-fire yellow cards by Michael Oliver in one phase of play for two separate bookable incidents.

Indeed, that misdemeanor was perhaps the only blotch on the night at Molineux as everyone around Arsenal knew just how big the result was, and whilst they have a few extra days compared to most, everyone in north London will need to remain as focused as ever.

Of course, the next match to be played is against Brentford when the west London outfit make the short trip to the Emirates Stadium on Saturday 19 February and we all know what happened the last time these two teams met in the Premier League.

Admittedly, it was in different circumstances as the Gunners were impacted heavily by injuries and illness at the time, whilst it being the opening fixture at Brentford’s home of the 2021/22 Premier League campaign certainly did not help matters, either.

Nonetheless, Arsenal were poor and deserved the defeat that was inflicted on them but with things having since significantly changed, it perhaps is not a real surprise to learn that Arteta’s side are strong favourites to overcome the threat of the Bees this time around.

According to Betway Sportsbook, who has a number of exceptional bonus offers and specials that can be taken advantage of, the Gunners are priced at 9/20 at the time of writing, although it should be noted that this is prior to Brentford’s match with Crystal Palace on Saturday 12 February.

However, as Arsenal fans, we would be expecting the team to push on and make the most of the opportunity that we have in order to try and continue the push for the fourth spot in the Premier League, especially as we have been given over a week to prepare for the game.

Indeed, for many, there is no excuse to be had if the Gunners do not get all three points in a week’s time.