The first Premier League match of 2025 happens on New Year's Day as Brentford host Arsenal at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Brentford have lost three of their last five league matches and look to avoid slipping further down the table. The Bees are coming off a 0-0 draw at Brighton but will need to step it up against an in-form Arsenal side.
The Gunners have won their two most recent league matches and will need to continue to churn out the results if they are to keep league leaders Liverpool within striking distance. Nottingham Forest and Chelsea are additional obstacles that the North London side must navigate as the league title challenge continues, necessitating a win in this one for Mike Arteta's men.
Brentford vs. Arsenal: Head-to-head and recent statistics
- All-time meetings: 20
- Brentford wins: 6
- Draws: 5
- Arsenal wins: 9
Arsenal hold the advantage in all-time meetings, with 9 wins in 20 matches.
The Gunners are unbeaten in their last five league matches against Brentford.
Brentford vs. Arsenal: Team news
Brentford
- Injured: Fleeken, Mee, Henry, Hickey, Dasilva, Nunes, Jensen, Van Den Berg, Pinnock, Thiago, Ajer, Roerslev
- Suspended: None
Arsenal
- Injured: Tomiyasu, White, Zinchenko, Sterling, Saka
- Suspended: None
Brentford vs. Arsenal: What the managers are saying
Thomas Frank, Brentford
(via BrentfordFC.com )
"Arsenal is the best set-piece team not only in the Premier League but in the world right now. They are so aggressive and they are well-coached - but we are also good at set-pieces and we will be ready."
Mikel Arteta, Arsenal
(via Arsenal.com )
"Beautiful goals, what people call ugly goals, open play, set-pieces, transition moments, fast build-ups, restarts... it doesn’t matter. At this level, the team needs many resources to surprise the opponent, to make the opponent work in different ways, to draw attention to other places and use advantages somewhere else. That’s what we do every day."
Brentford vs. Arsenal: Prediction
Arsenal appear to be back to their old selves and are highly motivated to keep pace with Liverpool, Nottingham Forest and Chelsea.
Prediction: Brentford 1-3 Arsenal