Arsenal entertain Brentford in tonight’s Premier League clash at the Emirates Stadium.
The Gunners are presently two points ahead of second-placed Manchester City and can extend the gap in their game in hand against the Bees.
Mikel Arteta’s side have a good recent record against their London counterparts, with six wins and two draws in the previous eight meetings.
They will be eyeing a victory tonight on the back of a frustrating 1-1 draw at Chelsea.
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Predicted Line-up:
David Raya is guaranteed to continue between the sticks for the Gunners. He will be eyeing his first clean sheet in the last four league games. The Spaniard is leading the Golden Glove race with eight shutouts thus far.
In the backline, there could be a solitary change from last weekend. William Saliba does not appear fully fit, as per manager Mikel Arteta’s update. Cristhian Mosquera and Piero Hincapie look poised to continue in central defence.
Similarly, Jurrien Timber is expected to start at right-back, but there could be a change on the opposite end. With Riccardo Calafiori on four yellow cards, Arteta could be wary of playing him with a huge game at Aston Villa on Saturday.
We anticipate Myles Lewis-Skelly to start at left-back due to the suspension risk for the Italian.
Martin Zubimendi had limited influence against the Blues after an early yellow card. The Spaniard will be aiming to make amends tonight. He is assured to start from the number six role, with Declan Rice in the central midfield position.
There could be a positional change for Eberechi Eze with Martin Odegaard likely to return to the XI.
With Leandro Trossard still doubtful, we anticipate Eze to move to the left wing to accommodate Odegaard’s return in the number 10 role. Gabriel Martinelli had a poor outing on Sunday, failing to win any of his duels (0/5) or dribbles contested (0/2)
The rest of the line-up could remain the same from the stalemate at Stamford Bridge.
Bukayo Saka made another vital contribution last Sunday. His first league assist in 12 months paved the way for Mikel Merino’s headed equaliser. Merino could get the nod over Viktor Gyokeres and Gabriel Jesus on the back of his goal.
Gyokeres had a smaller cameo compared to Odegaard on Sunday, which suggests Arteta is aiming to build up his fitness. We won’t be surprised if the Swede is introduced at the half-time interval against the Bees in tonight’s London derby.
How Arsenal could line up vs Brentford
Stats from Transfermarkt.com & Sofascore.com