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2022/23 English Premier League
Matchday 23
Arsenal v Brentford
Emirates Stadium
London, England
Saturday, 11 February 2023
Kick-off is at 15h00
Premier League leaders Arsenal will be looking to bounce back from only their second defeat of the season when they welcome Brentford to the Emirates Stadium on Saturday, February 11.
The Gunners also failed to score for just the second time in 20 matches as Everton clinched a 1-0 victory at Goodison Park on February 4 in Sean Dyche's first game in charge.
Mikel Arteta's side saw a 13-match unbeaten run come to an end, although they remain five points clear of second-placed Manchester City, who suffered a 1-0 loss to Tottenham on February 5.
City's slip-up allowed Manchester United to close within three points of their neighbours in third position, with Newcastle a further two points behind to round out the top four.
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The Bees continued their resurgence in the league with a 3-0 triumph over Southampton on February 4, which was their ninth straight game without defeat.
Thomas Frank's team leapfrogged Fulham into seventh spot and find themselves just six points adrift of the European places.
Arsenal have managed to cope quite well with Gabriel Jesus' absence as Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Eddie Nketiah have all shared the goal burden.
Odegaard in particular is enjoying an outstanding season, having registered eight goals in 19 appearances to make him the top scorer at the club, one ahead of Saka.
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Ben Mee has played an important role for Brentford following his switch from relegated Burnley in the off-season, featuring in all but one of their 21 league games and helping to marshal a defence that has conceded just 28 goals.
At the other end of the pitch, Ivan Toney has plundered 13 goals from 19 starts, scoring his last five in just four games, although he failed to find the back of the net in his most recent two outings against Leeds and Southampton.
In team news, the Gunners remain without Jesus (knee), Mohamed Elneny (knee), Emile Smith Rowe (thigh) and Reiss Nelson (thigh), although the latter two are on the verge of making their comebacks.
The visitors have an almost fully-fit squad at their disposal, with just Pontus Jansson (thigh), Shandon Baptiste (groin) and Frank Onyeka (thigh) all expected to return to training this month.
Arteta admitted the Gunners didn't play their normal game against the Toffees and he wants to see a swift response from his players in their next encounter.
"The best way to do it (bounce back from defeat) is to understand who we are, why we've gotten to where we are and then start to do all the basic things right, play the way we want to play, and how to do it better individually and collectively. Then you'll earn the right to win games," the Spaniard said.
Frank is hoping for more of the same after hailing the Bees' first-half performance against the Saints as one of their best of the campaign, with goals from Mee (41') and Brian Mbeumo (44') putting them in command at the break.
"I think the first half was an overall performance, maybe the most complete this season, because I think we controlled and dominated Southampton," the Dane said.
"We created a lot of good chances and opportunities where there was, of course, some clear-cut chances, but also some last-second blocks from Southampton. I really liked the way we looked in the first half, we scored two good goals."
Head-to-Head (Previous Premier League Meetings)
Matches - 3
Arsenal - 2
Brentford - 1
Draws - 0
Premier League fixtures - matchday 23:
Saturday, February 11
12h30: West Ham United v Chelsea
15h00: Arsenal v Brentford
15h00: Crystal Palace v Brighton & Hove Albion
15h00: Fulham v Nottingham Forest
15h00: Leicester City v Tottenham Hotspur
15h00: Southampton v Wolverhampton Wanderers
17h30: Bournemouth v Newcastle United
Sunday, February 12
14h00: Leeds United v Manchester United
16h30: Manchester City v Aston Villa
Monday, February 13
20h00: Liverpool v Everton
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