Thomas on team news ...

Josh Dasilva is longer-term; there is not a specific date on that. Mathias Jensen hasn’t played in pre-season and he will miss out as well. Ivan Toney will start on Friday night.

I have a big belief in Ivan. I think he has all the ability to score goals in the Premier League. He has a big belief in himself which I think you need as an offensive player. His link-up play, finishing, and awareness is all there so I am sure he will score goals in the Premier League.

Thomas on making an impact in the Premier League ...

I’ve been here only a fraction of the time compared to other people here in the club but I have now been here four-and-a-half years. I was here when they broke ground on the stadium, I have seen its raising and now we are actually playing Premier League football in this beautiful, new stadium. It has been a remarkable journey for a lot of people. We are proud, we are excited, we can’t wait but we want to go out there and prove ourselves.

After the Play-Off Final there was massive relief, satisfaction and joy because we achieved our target but, standing there at the top of the mountain, you looked over and there was another mountain which is even higher and even steeper. We now want to get on top of that. The players are elite sportsmen and we, as staff, want to win. There is no satisfaction in getting into the Premier League and doing badly.

Thomas on our summer transfer business ...

It has been a remarkable summer for Brentford. Every summer we have been in the Championship we have had to sell players but this summer we haven’t sold anyone, we have only added. We have got some good players in. I have a big belief in the squad and a big belief in the team. Maybe I will be wrong in a year’s time but if you don’t have that belief in your team, you aren’t going to achieve anything.

Thomas on our season aims ...

There are two simple targets for me. One is to win the next game which is on Friday against Arsenal. Two is to finish as high as possible. We want to be positive minded and attacking for as many minutes as possible in the Premier League. That is our aim.

Thomas on Arsenal ...

They are a massive club. They are one of the biggest clubs in England and in Europe. They are going through a transition; they want to be a top four club again. They have done the right thing in appointing a very promising manager in Mikel Arteta. They are trying to build a new team and a new culture; that takes time. Every manager and team needs to win games but I am convinced that they can create something exciting and new in the future.

Thomas on a full house at home to start with ...

We need the fans. I expect two things from Friday night; my players will run themselves into the ground and the fans will be right behind us through every minute. This is the kick-off to a new world where we have never been before. We are just excited and looking forward to playing against a good side.