Mikel Arteta: “Gabi [Martinelli] has not made it, he got a cut on his foot. Aaron is looking forward to it, he’s been waiting for his opportunity.
Thomas Frank: “Hopefully after the game we will have been able to stop Arsenal. This is an unbelievably tough task against a team in great form but every game as its own story. We know we need to be on top form.
“We need to play the perfect defensive game and be purposeful going forward.”
Karen Carney is on Sky, so read her on set-pieces.
Charles Antaki emails: “Ramsdale back? He’ll be delighted, but it might end up a disaster for him: Raya was doing fine, all others in the team are purring along nicely, lots of clean sheets, very few defensive lapses, much riding on a win, the usual suspects for catastrophic slips, mixups and misconceived passes (the Parteys, the Zinchenkos) not playing… All that puts Ramsdale very much in the spotlight for things going wrong. So, delight, tempered by the yawning chasm of humiliation and failure. Just like any goalkeeper I suppose, but with the trapdoor already creaking underfoot.”
While we wait …
It’s all kicking off at the Emirates.
Early officiating drama at the Emirates, where Andy Townsend is denied dinner for not having a food voucher. His pleas that his producer, who has the vouchers, is out doing an interview on the pitch fall on deaf ears.
— Jonathan Wilson (@jonawils) March 9, 2024
Rules are rules, and consistency has trumped common sense.
A big day for Aaron Ramsdale who makes his first Premier League appearance since the reverse fixture in November. The goalkeeper is in because David Raya is ineligible to play against his parent club. Will he be a little rusty?
Arsenal (4-3-3): Ramsdale; Gabriel, White, Kiwior, Saliba; Jorginho, Ødegaard, Rice; Saka, Trossard, Havertz
Subs: Hein, Cedric, Zinchenko, Partey, Vieira, Smith Rowe, Nelson, Nketiah, Jesus
Brentford (3-5-2): Flekken; Zanka, Ajer, Collins; Roerslev, Nørgaard, Lewis-Potter, Janelt, Onyeka; Wissa, Toney
Subs: Yarmoliuk, Jensen, Baptiste, Arthur, Damsgaard, Strakosha, Kim, Ghoddos, Maupay
The important thing for Arsenal here is that a win puts them top of the table. They need to keep the pressure up on Liverpool and Manchester City going into their big match tomorrow. The Gunners have won their past seven league matches and few will be backing Brentford this afternoon. They will fancy giving the Bees a shooing because they are defence fragile. Thomas Frank’s side have struggled this season but should finish above the red line because others risk points deductions and the bottom two are frankly dreadful.
Let’s hope for a cracker!
Kick-off: 5.30pm GMT