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By Tony Attwood
So it is Brentford at home tomorrow at 7.30pm – it is also (in the UK) on Sky Sports. The two clubs are 11 points and ten places apart in the league, with Arsenal having a goal difference that is +17, superior to their opponents.
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 13 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 25 | 7 | 18 | 30 |
| 10 | Brentford | 13 | 6 | 1 | 6 | 21 | 20 | 1 | 19 |
And if we look at the last six games each club has played, there is not too much difference between them:
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Arsenal | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 4 | +7 | 14 |
| 6 | Brentford | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 8 | +4 | 12 |
But then, if we take a look at the last six games, we can see a huge difference between the two sides in terms of current form. Brentford are in fact showing signs of relegation form, while Arsenal are continuing their push for the title.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Arsenal home | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 2 | 14 | 16 |
| 17 | Brentford away | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 12 | -6 | 3 |
Now of course it is possible that Brentford have had a particularly difficult run of away games that has caused that disastrous sequence of results. So I thought we should have a look… All matches took place in the Premier League.
| Date | Match | Result | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17 Aug 2025 | Nottingham Forest v Brentford | L | 3-1 |
| 30 Aug 2025 | Sunderland v Brentford | L | 2-1 |
| 20 Sep 2025 | Fulham v Brentford | L | 3-1 |
| 20 Oct 2025 | West Ham United v Brentford | W | 0-2 |
| 01 Nov 2025 | Crystal Palace v Brentford | L | 2-0 |
| 22 Nov 2025 | Brighton and Hove Albion v Brentford | L | 2-1 |
Beating West Ham away has been their one league triumph, but not a cause of too much excitement, since West Ham, as you may have noticed, have lost not just five of their home games this season and the confidence of their fans, they also have a goal difference at home of minus nine. It is perhaps not so much surprising that there are spaces at the stadium they were given for nothing by the state, but rather that there is anyone going at all.
But for Brentford, these away games have been pretty awful. And it is only that Brentford have a good home record (five wins, one draw, one defeat) that has kept them tenth in the league table.
Like Arsenal, they approach this match with four men missing according to EPL injury table.
Fabio Freitas Gouveia Carvalho, Antoni Milambo, Joshua Dasilva and Reiss Nelson – although the latter not because of injury but because he is on loan from Arsenal. Mind you, we haven’t seen him for so long it is somewhat hard to recall that this is the case.
For Arsenal, Gabriel Magalhaes is back in training but not yet ready to play, although Arteta says he is really pleased with the progress and attitude of the player. Kai Havertz is said to be almost ready and may return at the weekend – presumably on the bench. Both Leandro Trossard and William Saliba are being assessed. In the former case, that could lead to an all clear – but Salbia will be out for a while longer.
And just because we have mentioned it before when Tottenham were top of the injury league, I can report this is no longer the case. Top of this league with nine men out is Nottingham Forest.
Now moving on, one of the fascinating things about Arsenal and Brentford is how rarely they have played each other in competitive games – just 22 times since 1902 – and how, until up to the end of the 1930s, it was Brentford who had the best of the occasions.
In fact, Arsenal didn’t win any of the first seven league matches between the two clubs, drawing two and losing five.
But then in the post-war era, Arsenal have won six of the league games, there have been three draws, and Brentford has won just one – and that was in 2021. So it has been seven games since Arsenal were last defeated by Brentford. And the last time Arsenal were defeated by Brentford on Arsenal’s home turf was 87 years ago in 1938.
We’ll catch up with more Brentfordian news in the next post, but I thought I would conclude with a few other snippets I have spotted this morning. One is a comment by the Tottenham manager speaking about the owners of the club. When asked if he thought the owners would indeed give him more time to set things right, Frank replied that he thought they would since, ‘They’re intelligent people’:
Meanwhile and elsewhere, the Home Office has announced plans to make all sport – but in particular football – pay for the policing of its events rather than have the money come from the public purse. That was in the Telegraph.
And just staying with the neighbours for one more moment, there is also an article suggesting that Tottenham players have been discussing fan disconnect as a ‘critical issue’ in terms of the well-being of the team and the club, in a team meeting. Tottenham are currently 12th in the league.
