Brentford vs Arsenal: Match preview, predicted line-ups, team news and prediction
Brentford and Arsenal draw the curtain on round 26 of the 2025-26 Premier League season with a meeting at the Brentford Community Stadium on Thursday.
Having claimed a 2-0 win in the reverse fixture, Arsenal will head across town aiming to complete a league double over their London rivals, who are firmly in the mix for European qualification.
Match preview
Arsenal have made a habit of responding well to rare defeats this season, and Saturday’s 3-0 thrashing of Sunderland was their fourth win in a row since a 3-2 loss to Manchester United on January 25.
Martin Zubimendi opened the scoring for Mikel Arteta’s men, after which Viktor Gyokeres added a second-half double to make sure of the result.
That saw the Gunners temporarily go nine points clear at the summit before Manchester City reduced the gap back to six with a thrilling 2-1 victory over Liverpool.
Arsenal could have their lead cut to three points before they face off against Brentford on Thursday, and anything but a win would be less than ideal.
Unbeaten in nine straight meetings against Brentford, Thursday’s visitors have dominated this fixture to a large degree and have every reason to be optimistic about coming away with maximum points.
After a summer during which they lost their head coach, Thomas Frank, and last season’s top two scorers, Bryan Mbeumo and Yoanne Wissa, Brentford were tipped by many to struggle this term.
However, Keith Andrews has defied expectations in his debut campaign at the helm with his side currently sitting seventh in the standings following a 3-2 triumph over Newcastle United last time out.
Much of the Bees’ resurgence has been down to the form of Igor Thiago, who has netted 17 Premier League goals so far, four shy of current top scorer Erling Braut Haaland.
Despite Brentford’s impressive showing this season, their record in London derbies leaves much to be desired, with Thursday’s hosts having won just one of eight capital clashes.
Team news
Fabio Carvalho, Josh Dasilva and Antoni Milambo are all out with knee injuries and will not feature for Brentford here.
However, Kevin Schade is back available after serving a one-game suspension against Newcastle last time out.
Bukayo Saka is out with a hip problem and misses out for Arsenal alongside Max Dowman (ankle) and Mikel Merino (foot).
Skipper Martin Odegaard is set for a third straight game on the sidelines, while Leandro Trossard could miss a first league game since December after coming off injured against Sunderland.
Brentford Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Kelleher; Henry, Van de Berg, Ajer, Kayode; Janelt, Henderson; Schade, Jensen, Ouattara; Thiago
Arsenal Predicted XI (4-3-3): Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori; Rice, Zubimendi, Havertz; Martinelli, Gyokeres, Madueke
Prediction: Brentford 1-2 Arsenal