Will the Gunners be the winners of the matchday?

In almost exactly three weeks, the World Darts Championship starts again in London at Alexandra Palace. The wet and cheerful dart throwing of the occasionally pot-bellied professional athletes has already become a tradition and will of course be covered in detail by the betting base again this year. However, the 2023 Players Championship Finals are still on the agenda this weekend. You can also find everything you need to know about this in the news section!

The transition from darts to soccer is not particularly difficult, by the way, as there are just 15 miles between the aforementioned “Ally Pally” and the home ground of Brentford Football Club. The latter will face the reigning runners-up in a London derby on Saturday evening from 6:30pm. In the run-up to this encounter, there is much to suggest that the tip between Brentford and Arsenal for the “Gunners” could come true. However, we are far from underestimating the host “Bees.”

Incidentally, the same clash has already taken place once this season. In the second round of the English League Cup, coach Mikel Arteta’s team narrowly won 1:0, but were eliminated in the round of 16 against West Ham United. For the upcoming Premier League clash between Brentford and Arsenal, the prediction of more goals than in the EFL Cup match should make sense, especially as – in addition to the higher quality visitors – Frank’s charges have also been in a scoring mood at home recently.

Brentford – statistics & current form

Brentford Football Club have become a fixture in the Premier League. In the current season, the “Bees” are the personified average in the English top flight. After twelve match days, they have four wins, four draws and four defeats. However, in eleventh place in the table, the Londoners are already eleven points clear of the relegation zone. On the other hand, they are only five points off the international places. The decision-makers from the west of the capital are therefore not at all dissatisfied with their team’s performance.

Before the international break, however, the Red & Whites, who will have to do without their suspended goalkeeper Ivan Toney until mid-January 2024, were shown their limits. Brentford lost 3-0 to Liverpool at Anfield Road and once again had to learn the hard way against a big-name top club. The Bees have already lost out to Newcastle and Manchester United this season. We would therefore be wary of playing the high odds on a home win between Brentford and Arsenal in advance

Brentford is and remains an uncomfortable opponent – especially at home

However, it has to be said that Danish coach Thomas Frank’s side are traditionally very difficult to beat in front of a home crowd. Looking back at the last ten Premier League home games, they have only lost once. Nevertheless, only two of the six home matches so far this season have been victorious (three draws). However, these two victories came in the two most recent matches in front of their own fans. They even scored three goals each against West Ham and Burnley. The last time there were three consecutive home games with at least three goals scored was eight years ago!

Nevertheless, the dangerous offense, which has an effective transition game and can also develop considerable power from set pieces, is certainly one of the reasons for predicting over 2.5 in the Brentford-Arsenal clash on Saturday evening. In five out of six home games, a corresponding bet would have gone through. At least three goals were scored in eight of the twelve PL matches involving the Bees.

Bryan Mbeumo, who is his team’s top scorer in the absence of Toney and has recorded eight scoring points (!) in the many London derbies alone since the start of last season, was directly involved in this on several occasions. Only a certain Bukayo Saka from the upcoming opponent can top this figure (13).

Predicted Brentford line-up:

Arsenal – Statistics & current form

On a matchday in which four of the current top five teams in the English Premier League take points off each other, Arsenal Football Club could be the big winners. The prerequisite for this is that the current third-placed team in the table successfully overcomes its away task at Brentford and thus scores three points away from home in the league for the first time since the end of September. The reigning runners-up have picked up just one point from their last two away games. However, the opposition turned out to be complicated with Newcastle (0:1) and Chelsea (2:2).

Looking back over the past six games, however, only these two matches resulted in a loss of points. The other four encounters were victorious, including a win over Manchester City. The Gunners have also set the course for a place in the last 16 of the Champions League, meaning that the capital club can be said to be in good form overall.

Jubilarian Arteta has to change goalkeeper

Saturday evening’s game will be a special one for Mikel Arteta, as it will be the Spaniard’s 200th appearance on the touchline for the Gunners. With 115 wins already (!), the ex-professional has already set a record, as no other Arsenal coach before him has celebrated so many successes in 200 competitive matches. However, we believe it is quite realistic that no. 116 will be added this weekend, because in addition to their current form, the higher individual quality also speaks in favor of the third-placed team, who could win three consecutive away games at Brentford FC for the first time in all competitions.

Alternatively, there are also various statistics relating to the Gunners that point to three or more goals in the course of the match. Over the season as a whole, the over 2.5 would have paid off eight times out of twelve. Although the defense is still one of the best in the English top flight with a total of only ten goals conceded, a bet on both teams to score would have gone through in exactly half of all matches played.

In terms of personnel, Mikel Arteta will have to do without his regular keeper David Raya, who is not allowed to play against his home club as he is on loan. Ramsdale will be back in goal in the league for the first time in two and a half months. Instead, center forward Gabriel Jesus has already made his comeback from injury for the Brazilian national team and could be an option from the bench. Meanwhile, we expect Saka, Trossard and Martinelli, who has so far fallen somewhat short of his own expectations in terms of scoring points, to start, but nevertheless adds a different facet to the attacking play and, above all, a lot of speed.

Predicted Arsenal line-up:

Brentford – Arsenal head-to-head comparison / H2H result

To date, there have been 14 meetings between Brentford and Arsenal in the top flight of English soccer. However, only the most recent four games are really relevant, of which Arsenal have won two. Last season, the Gunners came out on top 3-0 away from home in the city derby in the league. This season, Arteta narrowly defeated his Danish opponent Thomas Frank 1-0 in the League Cup. Arsenal’s third away win in a row at Brentford beckons on Saturday evening.

Brentford – Arsenal betting tip

The 13th matchday in the Premier League brings some highlights with it. Before the matches between Newcastle and Chelsea and Tottenham vs. Aston Villa on Super Sunday, for example, we can look forward to a real London derby on Saturday evening. Brentford and Arsenal meet in the west of the capital. According to the betting odds, the visitors are the clear favorites, having already narrowly prevailed 1-0 at the Community Stadium in the EFL Cup.

We also rate the current form of coach Mikel Arteta’s team, who will be playing his 200th competitive match as Gunners coach, as stronger. In addition, the Bees have already struggled to put in their best performance against other top teams this season. Shortly before the international break, for example, they suffered a heavy 3-0 defeat against Liverpool

In our opinion, it is therefore wiser to bet on a win for the visitors between Brentford and Arsenal.