Arsenal are proudly sitting top of the Premier League table at the time of speaking, with five wins from their first six matches. What have you made of their start to the 2022/23 season?

Even though they did lose that 100 per cent record to Manchester United a fortnight ago, I think the start has been pretty fantastic. It is noticeable how clear an identity Arsenal have when they are playing - you know exactly what they are going to do every week - and I think that makes them very difficult to stop.

There are risks to their game though, in terms of the high line that United were able to exploit at Old Trafford, and maybe a team like Brentford might be able to have some joy.

But I think Arsenal are so strong going forward now, as opposed to last season when they were somewhat toothless in attack, and I think that is what has helped them have such a great start.

They have been very efficient, too - it is not easy to win five matches in a row, as Manchester City have shown having dropped points already against teams they should have beaten. It is a very difficult thing to do and Arsenal deserve a lot of credit for that.

This is Mikel Arteta’s third full season in charge of the Gunners. There have been some frustrating and disappointing moments along the way, but do you think the project is really starting to gain momentum now?

Yes, I do. When you speak to people inside the club, they say that, for the first time in about 15 years, it is quite clear what the identity is and everyone knows they are moving in the same direction, which has not always been the case at Arsenal in recent seasons.

Arteta has cleared out the bad apples from the squad, got rid of people who were not on board with his vision and brought in people who are, and who are capable of helping him achieve his vision both on and off the pitch.

Stylistically, Arsenal have a very particular way they want to play under Arteta and he has brought in the players that can do that, as well as the right characters for the dressing room. That has led to a massive bond between the players and the fans, which has been something he has always said he wanted.

The only thing missing now is that next step into the Champions League and maybe even some trophies. That is what they are targeting because the project is definitely on course.

Over £100m was spent by the club in the transfer window and they do look to have brought in some real quality players, while also shifting on those surplus to requirements. How do you look back on the summer?

The business, in my opinion, was good. They addressed the position they really needed to address, which was centre-forward, and the signing of Gabriel Jesus has been fantastic for Arsenal.

He has been brilliant and is already a massive fan favourite. He is also one of the vice-captains, despite having been at the club for only a couple of months. He is scoring goals, getting assists, giving defenders nightmares, and he is very intense in his movement, compared to Alexandre Lacazette, who was pretty static most of the time.

Oleksandr Zinchenko has come in, too, which has helped out at left-back and means they are able to play with an inverted wing-back, so their options have opened up.

They have improved their depth all over the place and they look like they have a good-sized squad. Injuries in recent weeks have threatened that and, last season, these kinds of things would have been catastrophic for Arsenal, but now they are getting by and still playing pretty well.

People have been critical of the fact they did not sign another midfielder on Deadline Day - they wanted to but they have spent a lot of money, and I think the squad is still in a much better place than it was at the end of last season.

Which player should Brentford fans be keeping an eye on on Sunday?

It is hard to look past Gabriel Jesus, isn’t it?! He is probably the one they know the most about, too.

But I’m also interested to see how William Saliba does against Ivan Toney. He is in such great form at the minute and is such a particular striker to deal with, in the sense that he goes full-throttle into everything. Saliba has had little nippy forwards for the most part and he struggled a little bit against Aleksandar Mitrovic.

And, as we saw in the All or Nothing documentary, there is a bit of personal beef with Toney, too!

How is Arteta likely to set up his side at the Gtech Community Stadium?

Injuries withstanding, it will probably be a 4-3-3. That is the way Arsenal have played every game this season at the time of speaking.

The full-backs tend to come in a bit, so very Pep Guardiola-esque in that sense, and then there is a No.6 who sits relatively deep and two No.8s who get forward to support the attack.

The attack is pretty fluid; Jesus can drift out to the left and right, while Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka will come infield, which is very difficult for opposition defences to deal with.

Look out for Granit Xhaka as well, as he is going to be supporting the attack from deep a lot, which is something he did not necessarily do last season. Martin Odegaard is the creative hub of the team.

There was one win for each team last term, but what is your score prediction this time?

It is hard to look past Arsenal, not that Brentford have not been in good form so far. I’m going for a 2-1 win; I do think Brentford will cause Arsenal’s defence problems, but I think Arsenal will have enough quality to come through on the day.