Kaya Kaynak, chief Arsenal writer for football.london, believes that Brentford must be wary of “creative genius” Martin Ødegaard at Emirates Stadium on Saturday.
The attacking midfielder found the back of the net in the Gunners’ 6-0 win over Sheffield United last time out, meaning he has 12 goal involvements in 24 Premier League appearances this season.
Arsenal are third in the Premier League, two points behind leaders Liverpool and right in the thick of the title race for the second season in succession. What have you made of the last three months of their campaign?
Since the start of this year, Arsenal have been fantastic. Towards the end of 2023, they had a bad run of form where they won one game in seven going into the winter break and there were lots of questions about whether they needed a striker and if should they sign someone in January, but they did not have enough money to do that, like the rest of the teams in the Premier League, and they did not get anyone over the line.
When they came back after the winter break, there was a lot of pressure on whether or not they could stay in the title race of if they had fallen away and surrendered too much ground already. But since then, they have been outstanding; they have scored 31 goals in seven games and are the first team to win three games consecutively by five goals or more ever in the top four divisions.
Offensively, they have been fantastic. They solved all of those questions about whether they could score enough goals to win the league but, as much as the attack has been amazing, the defence has also been superb. Arsenal have got the best defensive metrics in the Premier League, they have been smothering teams, totally dominating teams, and they seem to be hitting form at just the right time.
Since September, certainly in the league, Arsenal have been near-perfect at home, which is always a great foundation to build from, but they have also been incredibly ruthless recently, with a run of seven straight wins and 31 goals scored. Would you say they look better prepared to challenge for the title this year?
They definitely do. The years’ experience is key and, if you talk to any of the players, they all say they remember the pain from last year and they are going to use that to fuel them.
Arsenal have been very good at using previously slights, if you like, as revenge – for example, in the Amazon documentary when Mikel Arteta put up Ivan Toney’s tweet on the TV before the team talk. They seem to be doing that again this season and clicking at just the right time.
Last season, there was a lot more emotion in games and they were accused of over-celebrating; this season, it is a lot calmer, but they also have the depth they did not have last season. They have added players like Kai Havertz and Jorginho, while Jurrien Timber is getting closer to full fitness and players who were out injured for most of last season are now available.
Slowly but surely, they seem to be getting their depth together and, again, things are falling into place at the right time.
Just three days after this game, the Gunners face Porto in the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie. How keen are they to keep challenging on two fronts?
Very keen. I mentioned the depth above and the reason they went so big on increasing the depth in the summer was because they feel they have a squad capable of competing on two fronts. The Brentford game is interesting because Arsenal have the opportunity to go top of the Premier League, with Man City and Liverpool playing each other, but they also have that Champions League game a few days later, where they need to win and by a decent margin to overturn the aggregate deficit.
Arteta has said he is going to rotate and make a few changes, which is something he has not necessarily had to do since the winter break, but the depth is so strong at the moment that you feel he will be able to successfully.
Which player should Brentford fans be keeping an eye on on Saturday?
How long have you got?! There are so many players in fantastic form right now. Bukayo Saka has been scoring lots of goals, Kai Havertz has been chipping in, the defence and midfield have been really good and Declan Rice has been outstanding.
If I had to zoom in on one player, I would probably say Martin Ødegaard – he is probably the best player in the Premier League at present and really stepping up when Arsenal need him. He had a few injuries to overcome at the start of the season, but even in that December period I mentioned earlier, he was still putting in fantastic performances.
Ødegaard sets the tone in everything Arsenal do: pressing off the ball, winning the ball high and providing that creative genius in the final third.
How is Mikel Arteta likely to set up his side at the Emirates?
It will be similar to the way they have been playing all season, that 4-3-3 that we know. They are going to press high and try and win the ball from Brentford high up the pitch and not give them a minute to breathe, which is going to be very difficult for them to deal with.
Arsenal have got two monsters at the back in Gabriel and William Saliba who will be able to win balls high from the likes of Ivan Toney and Neal Maupay and it will be interesting to see those duels.
There is going to be some rotation and, with Gabriel Martinelli an injury doubt going into this game, what will Arsenal do? Will they play Leandro Trossard or someone else? There are a few changes that could be made, but the basic 4-3-3 will be the same and you can expect them to try and overload the wide areas because that is where they have been doing really well recently.
Arsenal have won both meetings this season by 1-0 scoreline. What’s your score prediction for this one?
I am always wary of going too big against Brentford because they have got a decent record against Arsenal, aside from that 3-0 a few years back.
I will, conservatively – and by Arsenal’s standards, this is very conservative – go for 2-0. Given Arsenal have been winning by fives and sixes recently, that is a mark of how much respect I have for Brentford!
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