Arsenal will be looking to boost their chances of finishing in the top four with a victory against Brentford in their Premier League clash at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday.
The Gunners will be seeking revenge against the Bees, who began life in the top flight with a surprise 2-0 home win over Mikel Arteta's men on the opening day of the season.
Match preview
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Arsenal ended a five-game winless run across all competitions when they claimed a slender 1-0 victory away at Wolverhampton Wanderers last Thursday night.
Despite Gabriel Martinelli's bizarre dismissal midway through the second half, after receiving two bookings in the space of a few seconds, a 25th-minute tap-in from Gabriel Magalhaes was enough to separate the two sides and help the Gunners secure their first three points in 2022.
Mikel Arteta's men are now positioned sixth in the Premier League table, four points behind Manchester United in fourth but with three games in hand.
With no European competition or domestic cups to consider for the rest of the season, Arsenal will be solely focused on finishing in the top four, and with plenty of points still to play for, Arteta and co will be confident of fending off their rivals for a Champions League spot.
Saturday's game against Brentford is the first in a run of eight fixtures the Gunners will have against teams outside the so-called top six; however, they cannot take the Bees lightly after suffering a surprise defeat in the reverse fixture.
Arsenal's opening-day loss was the first of three consecutive setbacks at the beginning of the campaign, which saw Arteta's men plummet to the foot of the table at the end of August. Since then, however, only Manchester City (18) and Liverpool (14) have won more top-flight games than the Gunners (12).
With Arsenal boasting a 32-game unbeaten home record in the Premier League against promoted teams, they will fancy their chances of beating Brentford this weekend.
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Brentford avoided a seventh successive defeat in all competitions when they played out a goalless draw at home against Crystal Palace last weekend.
Thomas Frank will have been pleased with his side's defensive display, keeping their first clean sheet since beating Everton 1-0 in November last year, but the Dane will be aware that their form needs to improve quickly if they are to avoid slipping into a relegation battle.
The Bees currently sit 14th in the Premier League standings, seven points above the drop zone, but all six teams below them have at least one game in hand.
Brentford head to the Emirates this weekend after failing to win any of their last eight away matches in the top flight, including six defeats and two draws, and they have conceded at least twice in each game during this unwanted run.
Frank's men will, however, have fond memories of facing the Gunners after their jubilant opening-day victory on home soil. Securing all three points again on Saturday would see the Bees become the first promoted team to complete the Premier League double over Arsenal since Blackburn Rovers in the 1992-93 campaign.
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Team News
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Arteta has confirmed that Arsenal duo Takehiro Tomiyasu and Bernd Leno are both available for selected this weekend, after recovering from respective calf and COVID-19-related issues.
The Gunners are, however, unable to call upon Martinelli following his sending off at Molineux, so either Emile Smith Rowe or Nicolas Pepe are set to start as a result.
Granit Xhaka and Thomas Partey are expected to retain their centre-midfield positions, while Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard are likely to provide support in the final third for central striker Alexandre Lacazette, who is expected to get the nod over Eddie Nketiah.
As for Brentford, former Tottenham Hotspur playmaker Christian Eriksen featured in a friendly for the Bees in midweek, but Saturday's game will come too soon for the 30-year-old.
Injured trio Tarique Fosu-Henry, Julian Jeanvier and Mathias Jorgensen also remain sidelined, but Ivan Toney could return to the matchday squad this weekend after missing the last two league games with a calf injury.
Frank could name an unchanged starting lineup against the Gunners; however, the potential return of Toney could see him start ahead of Yoane Wissa, while Shandon Baptiste and Frank Onyenka will both be hoping to force their way into the midfield ahead of Mathias Jensen and Vitaly Janelt.
Arsenal possible starting lineup:
Ramsdale; Tomiyasu, White, Gabriel, Tierney; Partey, Xhaka; Saka, Odegaard, Smith Rowe; Lacazette
Brentford possible starting lineup:
Raya; Ajer, Jansson, Pinnock; Canos, Onyeka, Norgaard, Jensen, Henry; Mbeumo, Toney
We say: Arsenal 1-0 Brentford
Arsenal have found it difficult to find the net in recent weeks and considering that they struggled against Brentford earlier this season, the hosts could be in for another challenging contest on Saturday.
However, with the Gunners faithful cheering them on from the stands, Arteta's men should be able to secure a narrow victory and close in on the top four.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Arsenal win with a probability of 72.08%. A draw had a probability of 17.7% and a win for Brentford had a probability of 10.25%.
The most likely scoreline for an Arsenal win was 2-0 with a probability of 13.32%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (12.02%) and 3-0 (9.85%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (8.39%), while for a Brentford win it was 0-1 (3.79%). The actual scoreline of 2-1 was predicted with a 9.3% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole and our data analysis both correctly predicted that Arsenal would win this match.
