Ben Burgess became a fan favourite at Griffin Park during the 2001/02 campaign, netting 18 goals in 51 appearances while on loan from Blackburn Rovers. In total, Ben led the line for ten clubs during a 14-year career.

Now a teacher in Lancashire, Ben still keeps a close eye on the Bees and will be providing his thoughts ahead of each game this season.

In this week's column, Ben looks ahead to Sunday's clash with Arsenal and discussed why Ivan Toney deserved his England call-up...

Celebrations

Arsenal have had a tremendous start to the season, but they were ridiculed by the likes of Richard Keys and Graeme Souness when they celebrated their comeback win over Fulham last month.

Players and fans alike were celebrating jubilantly at the final whistle, however, those experts in the studio argued that it was just a 2-1 victory over a newly-promoted side.

It’s easy to say that from a distance, but football is an emotional game. If you’ve been battling on the pitch with your team-mates for 90 minutes to maintain a 100 per cent winning record, then why not celebrate?

Should players in League One avoid celebrating because it isn’t the Premier League? Is a silver medal worth celebrating or is the person who receives it simply the first loser? It’s human nature to experience an outpouring of emotion when you want something so badly.

For the Bees, I was fortunate to score a last-minute winner at Griffin Park and a 90th-minute equaliser at Huddersfield. Nobody could have stopped me, or you fans, from celebrating that day.

Team talks

Team talks can literally make or break a manager.

I have witnessed every possible talk, in every possible situation.

Steve Coppell was always calm and composed and said just enough without talking for the sake of it. Players had deep respect for him, and I never witnessed anyone argue back.

Graeme Souness at Blackburn had that fear factor about him that motivated his players to do well.

Ian Holloway was never repetitive and always had a fresh story/analogy to link the team talk to. He had an amazing knack for relieving the pressure in the changing room and making everybody relaxed and confident - often by having dance-offs with the kitman!

Mikel Arteta shares many of those qualities, if the All or Nothing documentary is anything to go by.

He seems a very intelligent guy who constantly keeps his team talks fresh and relevant; he’s used a lightbulb, an Ivan Toney tweet and even rubbed his hands together to focus his players.

Not all of these team talks result in victories, but you can see that the players respond to him; he has built relationships that can survive tough times and tough results.

My favourite Arteta moment was his decision to allow club photographer and lifelong Arsenal fan Stuart MacFarlane to deliver the pre-game talk for a North London derby game against Spurs. It can only be a matter of time until Peter Gilham delivers his own for the Brentford squad!

Ivan Toney

The second season in the Premier League has been a death sentence for many strikers' careers.

Think Michu at Swansea City, who blasted 18 goals in his first term in the top flight. He followed that up with a measly two the next season and promptly disappeared.

Even more sensational was ex-Wigan Athletic player Amr Zaki. He took the Premier League by storm and was linked with moves to Liverpool and Real Madrid, but ended up sliding out of favour and being labelled as “the most unprofessional player I have ever worked with” by his manager, Steve Bruce.

As a striker a bit lower down the pyramid, I can attest to the pressure you feel to deliver, especially at the beginning of a season when everybody is questioning if you have the quality to keep scoring.

Quality is not really the issue with the players I mentioned above, though; it’s more to do with desire, professionalism and the ability to continue to improve.

Ivan Toney has all of that in abundance. He also has a cool, calm self-belief. People asked if he could do it in the Prem last season - he did.

One-season wonder is what some people thought. Critics and doubters were firmly put in their place by his magnificent hattrick against Leeds United that took his tally this season to five goals in six games.

Even the Premier League’s greatest goalscorer Alan Shearer was calling for an England call-up.