By Tamara Prenn
Published: | Updated:
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Arsenal will go top of the league with a home win tonight and can enjoy the loss of points at the hands of Liverpool or Manchester City on Sunday as they go to battle against each other.
But with the race close for some time now, how careful do the Gunners have to be to stay in the hunt? And do some rivals have an easier task than others?
Find Mail Sport’s overview of the remaining 11 matches of the season here.
An intriguing – perhaps not too serious – statistic here that suggests late afternoon and early evening may not be the best choice for Arsenal.
Is it the shadows? The setting sun? Are the players already working on their Saturday evening plans? We may never know the reason for this particular pecadillo. But it looks like Brentford are the outlier opposition. Will that still be the case around 7:30 PM?
Unhindered by the slight mist of irony hovering around his comments, Arteta has begged Southgate to stay at Ramsdale ahead of this summer’s European Championship.
Performances in the English top flight, however scarce, will influence the England head coach – ahead of tonight’s performance you can read Arteta’s pre-match comments below.
Raya is loan-bound and cannot start against parent club Brentford, meaning Ramsdale will get his first Premier League appearance since… Arsenal’s last run-out against Brentford.
Another change makes it two for the hosts, with Martinelli out of action after sticking his foot against Sheffield United on Monday – having been swapped for Trossard.
Brentford faced Toney’s other suitors Chelsea last and had to settle for a 2-2 draw: they made one change, swapping Reguilon for Lewis-Potter.
‘Coy’ could well be Arteta’s middle name at this rate, so keen is the Spaniard to add a bit of mystery to things like team injuries or his goalkeeping decision-making.
As such, he’s coy on the subject of Toney – and Mail Sport’s ISAAN KHAN has the full story.
After picking up an obvious skill during Brentford’s last run-out, Frank dismissed concerns that Toney might not start today.
That means Toney’s most ardent suitors will get a good look at him when he returns from serving his sentence.
The striker, in turn, appears to favor Arsenal – thanks to internet sleuths who found a number of promising posts on social media – and would be keen to impress after failing in last season’s 1-1 draw at the Emirates had scored.
Brentford thought they were getting away with it when Arsenal visited the G-Tech Community Stadium last year, until Kai Havertz showed up in the 89th minute to thoroughly spoil the party.
But Brentford have only been beaten by a solitary goal in both of their games at the Gunners this season – after an early Carabao Cup encounter ended in similar fashion – and were without Toney for the reverse fixture.
You can relive events with Mail Sport’s KIERAN GILL report below.
MIkel Arteta’s team has been very strong at the back this season and has the statistics to prove this.
For a Brentford team that has won just three games this Premier League season, this is likely to be a sobering read.
It was hard to hear the words ‘Ivan Toney’ and ‘Arsenal’ for an hour during the January transfer window, but when the dust settles at the end of the season will the Gunners be just as keen to to entice the rush hour to the north?
Chris Sutton reflects on how well they are doing without a roaring number 9, and he shared his thoughts on Mail Sport’s It’s All Kicking Off podcast this week.
Hello and welcome to Mail Sport’s live coverage of the final Premier League match of an action-packed Saturday, the Ivan Toney derby – I mean Arsenal versus Brentford.
But attention will undoubtedly focus on the Bees striker, who has long been one of Arsenal’s long-term transfer targets ahead of the summer window. After serving his eight-month ban, this will be the first time he faces his suitors this season.
Kick-off is at 5.30pm, but until then we’ll be bringing you all the team news and build-up.
