Up next for Brentford is a trip to Premier League pacesetters Arsenal.

Despite defeat to his former side Everton last time out, Mikel Arteta’s Gunners retain a healthy advantage at the top of the table as they chase a first league title in 19 years.

Read all the build-up to the weekend’s London derby below.

The opposition

Arsenal maintain five-point gap to second despite defeat at Goodison Park

The Gunners suffered a setback last time out, losing 1-0 at Everton, but remain in pole position to pick up their first Premier League title since the Invincibles season of 2003/04.

Arsenal head into Saturday’s game five points clear of Manchester City and with a game in hand.

Arteta’s side have led the Premier League from the flag drop this season. They won nine of their first 10 top-flight fixtures, including the 3-0 victory at the Gtech Community Stadium in September which remains Brentford’s only home league defeat of the campaign.

They extended that run to 16 wins in 19 to reach the halfway point of the Premier League season on 50 points, the competition’s fifth-highest tally at that stage of the season.

In Europe, Arsenal sailed through top of their group in the Europa League, winning five of their six group games.

The Gunners’ domestic cup interest is at an end following an EFL Cup exit to Brighton and Hove Albion and last month’s FA Cup fourth-round defeat to Manchester City.

The exciting thing for Arsenal fans is that this side is only going to get better. The Gunners have the youngest squad in the Premier League and have named nine of the 20 youngest starting XIs this season.

Home-grown attacking talents Bukayo Saka, Eddie Nketiah and Gabriel Martinelli have 18 league goals between them – Nketiah in particular playing a key role, filling the shoes of injured summer signing Gabriel Jesus.

In midfield, captain Martin Odegaard has been at the heart of everything positive about the Gunners. Playing alongside a rejuvenated Granit Xhaka, the young Norwegian leads Arsenal’s scoring charts with eight.

At the back, 21-year-old William Saliba has begun to fulfil the promise that was evident from a young age.

As you would expect with a side riding high at the top of the table, Arteta has been consistent in his team selections this season. Seven players have started all 20 of Arsenal’s Premier League games while Odegaard and Thomas Partey have started 19 and 17 respectively.

It has only really been at left-back - where Oleksandr Zinchenko, Kieran Tierney and Takehiro Tomiyasu have split starting roles - and the injury to Jesus that have seen any personnel changes this season in Arteta’s trusted 4-3-3.

Arteta does have more options to change things up, should he wish, following the addition of Leandro Trossard, Jakub Kiwior and Jorginho during the January window.

Team news

Strakosha, Jansson and Onyeka unavailable for Arsenal test

Thomas Strakosha (ankle) joins Pontus Jansson and Frank Onyeka (both hamstring) in missing tomorrow’s trip to Arsenal.

Thomas Frank doesn’t believe the goalkeeper’s issue will keep him out for too long while, of the other absentees, Onyeka is back in full training, but not ready for selection, and Jansson has also been training with the group this week.

For Arsenal, Reiss Nelson (hamstring) and Emile Smith-Rowe (thigh) are not far away from fitness but will not be involved on Saturday.

Mohamed Elneny and Gabriel Jesus (both knee) are the Gunners’ longer-term absentees.

Thomas Partey was withdrawn on the hour at Everton last weekend but has been back in full training this week.

The Gameplan

With Kaya Kaynak, chief Arsenal writer for football.london

“It’s been 4-3-3 this whole season, so I don’t see Arteta changing that.

“Even though Arsenal lost last week, I think he’ll stick by the system that has got him five points clear at the top of the league.

“The inverted full-backs are going to be big; Oleksandr Zinchenko and White will tuck in and try and overload Brentford in the midfield.

“The movement of Saka, Martinelli and Nketiah, with Xhaka supporting the attack and Odegaard picking the locks is going to be massive.”

Read the full interview with Kaya Kaynak

The manager

Mikel Arteta

As a player, Mikel Arteta began his youth career at Barcelona before spells at Paris Saint-Germain, Rangers and Real Sociedad.

His introduction to English football came during a loan spell at Everton in January 2005. He made a permanent move to Goodison Park six months later.

He joined Arsenal in August 2011, where he was named club captain ahead of the 2014/15 season.

The Spaniard won two FA Cups during his time with the Gunners, before retiring in 2016.

Arteta was appointed assistant coach at Manchester City in July of that year, working under manager Pep Guardiola, and was part of the coaching team that won the Premier League in 2017/18 with a record 100 points.

The following year, City became the first club in a decade to retain the Premier League, while they also won two EFL Cups and one FA Cup during Arteta's time at the Etihad Stadium.

Arteta took over at Arsenal in December 2019, taking the Gunners to eighth and winning the FA Cup at the end of the campaign. His first full season also resulted in an eighth-place finish.

The Spaniard will be hoping to take Arsenal forward again this season, having finished fifth in 2021/22, narrowly missing out on a place in the UEFA Champions League.

Classic clash

Brentford 2 Arsenal 0 (Premier League, 13 August 2021)

Brentford announced their arrival in the Premier League by kicking off the 2021/22 season with a 2-0 win over Arsenal.

The Bees’ first top-flight game since 1947 finished with a well-earned victory thanks to goals from Sergi Canos and Christian Norgaard.

Match officials

Peter Bankes set for 16th Brentford assignment

Referee: Peter Bankes

Assistant referees: Edward Smart and Nick Greenhalgh

Fourth official: Simon Hooper

Video assistant referee: Lee Mason

Additional video assistant referee: Adrian Holmes

Sunday will be Peter Bankes’ 16th game in charge of Brentford, coming just three weeks after his last Bees assignment at Leeds United in late January.

The Bees have lost just four of the previous 15 games under Bankes, memorably winning at Manchester City last November.

Since promotion, Thomas Frank’s side have been beaten just once in five away games under Bankes, that coming at Fulham in August.

Aside from that City win, there was success at West Ham United last season, as well as a pair of draws at Aston Villa and, last time out, against Leeds.

Despite showing the fifth-most yellow cards per Premier League game, the Merseyside official, who is in his fourth season in the Select Group One, has yet to award a penalty or show a red card in the top flight this campaign.

Arsenal 22/23

204 fouls – 16th in Premier League

34 yellow cards – 12th in Premier League

0 red cards – joint-fewest in Premier League