England Premier League
Friday 13th August 2021
Kick off at 8pm BST
Venue: Brentford Community Stadium
Match Preview:
Arsenal will take on Premier League newcomers Brentford to kick the new EPL season off on Friday evening and it should be a fascinating tie.
All eyes will be on Brentford as Friday will mark a historic occasion for the club. It will be their first ever Premier League game and the first time that they have played in the English top flight in 74 years. Manager Thomas Frank steered his club into the Premier League via the Championship play off’s and Frank is well versed having been at the club for the past 3 years.
To no one’s surprise Arsenal will be the favourites to win the game but with fans back in stadiums and this being such an incredible evening for the home side in theory there should be no clear favourite.
Brentford will be hoping that Ivan Toney can replicate some of his goalscoring form up front and the 25 year old scored an impressive 31 league goals last season. Though no award was forthcoming because of the pandemic Toney was unofficially awarded as Brentford’s player of the season. One notable purchase over the summer for the Bees was acquiring Frank ‘the tank’ Onyeka who was signed from Midtylland and he should be able to boost the midfield.
Arsenal finished in a disappointing 8th place last season and will play no European football for the first time in a quarter of a century. The Gunners, a usual top 4 side have not finished in that position since the 2016 season and these have been worrying times for the club.
Mikel Arteta has not been very busy in the transfer market although the club have spent over £70m so far. The bulk of that figure has gone on Ben White the defender has come from Brighton and he cost £50m. Albert Sambi Lokonga has come from Anderlecht for £15m. The Belgian midfielder is being highly thought of and that could be a bargain buy for the Gunners.
Team News:
Brentford: There is only one major concern for the Bees and that is the long term hip injury to Josh Da Silva and he is set to miss the beginning of the season.
Arsenal: Eddie Nketiah has been ruled out for four weeks because of an ankle injury. Gabriel Maglhaes has a knee injury which forced him to miss the Olympics. Though it isn’t thought to be serious with no pre-season training he is very likely to miss this match. Thomas Partey has an ankle injury and could miss the first two games of the season.
Brentford vs Arsenal Head to Head:
The last time the teams played each other in the league was back in 1947 and Arsenal won 1-0.
The last competitive game between the two clubs was in 2018 in the Carabao Cup and Arsenal at home won 3-1.
There is a 70% chance to see under 2.5 goals.
Brentford vs Arsenal Prediction:
Brentford really impressed last season with the amount of goals scored and this unit are a close one. This is a huge step up for the club and they must enjoy it but remain very focused. All of the pressure will in fact be on Arsenal and the return of fans will be a huge plus for the home side. Technically there is a gap in quality of course but we expect this match to play out more like a classic FA Cup match and the home side are going to have plenty of chances here.
Ivan Toney for Brentford is certainly worth his price to score anytime and should be backed. He scored 31 league goals last season and he will be raring to go in this league and try to prove his worth. Arsenal have immense quality to at their disposal and it is worth backing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to score and with all his experience he should be getting goals. He has a poor season by his standards last term and he needs to use that to bounce back to his best, this is after all a clean slate for Arsenal.
Brentford vs Arsenal Betting Tips:
Arsenal to beat Brentford at 1.80
Both teams to score at 1.72
Anytime goalscorer: Ivan Toney at 2.50
Anytime goalscorer: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang at 2.40
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