Arsenal vs Brentford Prediction: Toney unable to stop Gunners going 8/8

Arsenal return home to the Emirates Stadium on Saturday evening (KO, 17:30), knowing a win over Brentford will catapult them to the top of the Premier League, at least until early evening on Sunday when fellow title rivals Liverpool and Manchester City meet.

Below we have compiled the latest team news and match odds, and offered our Arsenal vs Brentford prediction. The match is live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League.

The Gunners head into this one on the back of seven straight wins in the league, scoring 31 times and conceding just three in that run.

Brentford on the other hand have lost five of their last seven and haven't tasted success since a 2-0 victory over Wolves on February 10, form which has left them just six points clear of the relegation zone.

Team News

Aaron Ramsdale will make his first Premier League appearance since November 25, when Arsenal beat the Bees 1-0 in the reverse fixture at the Brentford Community Stadium, as on-loan goalkeeper David Raya is ineligible to face his parent club.

Mikel Arteta also admitted that Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli are suffering with "little issues" but suggested that they should be fine to line up at the Emirates on Saturday.

There were no updates given on Jurrien Timber, Takehiro Tomiyasu or Oleksandr Zinchenko, who all missed last Monday's 6-0 win at Sheffield United.

Brentford have a whole back four out injured in Aaron Hickey, Ethan Pinnock, Ben Mee and Rico Henry, with Josh Dasilva and Kevin Schade also having to watch from the stands.

Bryan Mbuembo returned to training earlier this week after three months out with an ankle injury, but it remains to be seen whether he is thrust back into the matchday squad.

Mathias Jensen and Neal Maupay will be looking to earn recalls after starting as substitutes in last weekend's 2-2 draw with Chelsea.

Match Odds

Unsurprisingly, Arsenal are heavy favourites for the victory here at 1/5, with Brentford priced at 12/1 to record a first-ever competitive win at the Emirates. The draw, which landed in this fixture last season, is available at 6/1, both teams to score is 10/11 and over 2.5 goals is 4/9.

Arsenal to win and both teams to score @ 13/8

The Gunners have kept three clean sheets in their last four games but they have all been away from home. At the Emirates, they have conceded in each of their last two (v Liverpool and Newcastle), and could be posed problems by a Brentford side that has scored in 12 of their last 13 matches.

Only Manchester City have been able to shut out the Bees in that run, and even their defence was breached in the first of the two meetings between them in February.

Scoring just once is unlikely to be enough for the visitors to achieve a positive result though. Thomas Frank's men have conceded multiple goals in six of their last eight and have shipped four, four, three and three in games against West Ham, Liverpool, Man City and Tottenham Hotspur respectively.

Arsenal are on a roll in the Premier League and should be able to record their eighth consecutive victory in the competition.

Ivan Toney to score anytime @ 12/5

"Nice kick about with the boys" is the infamous tweet written by Ivan Toney in August 2021 after Brentford started their Premier League journey with a 2-0 victory over Arsenal. The message suitably wound up the Gunners, whose defender Gabriel Magalhaes waited over a year to publish the same tweet following a 3-0 victory at the Brentford Community Stadium.

Since Gabriel's response, Toney has only lined up against Arteta's side once, owing to the long ban he has been serving. He did find the net though, as the Bees drew 1-1 at the Emirates in February 2023.

The 28-year-old returned to action at the start of the calendar year and scored four goals in his first five matches. A three-game barren run has followed, and he will now be desperate to get back in the goals with an international tournament just three months away.

Arsenal's centre-backs have enjoyed terrific campaigns, but there have been instances of them finding it tough against physical centre-forwards. William Saliba was brushed aside in January as Nottingham Forest's Taiwo Awoniyi scored, and Toney can offer similar problems for the home side's backline.

Check out the rest of our Football Betting Tips here.