The Arsenal line up to take the sting out of the Bees

 By Danong

Coming off a 1-1 draw with Chelsea in a fiercely contested London derby at Stamford Bridge, Arsenal will be determined to bounce back to winning ways when they welcome Brentford to the Emirates.  

Having dominated recent London derbies, winning 28, drawing nine and losing only three of their last 41, the Gunners will be eager to extend that formidable record against the Bees.  

Many had expected Brentford to unravel following Thomas Frank's departure to Tottenham Hotspur and the exits of Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa, their trusted attacking duo.

Yet, under Keith Andrews, the Bees have refused to collapse. Andrews has stepped seamlessly into Frank's shoes, and on their day, Brentford remain as formidable as ever.  

Igor Thiago as their goalscoring assassin. He's scoring goals with relentless consistency. Arsenal will need to be particularly wary of his threat, as well as Michael Kayode's dangerous long throws, which have become a weapon in Brentford's armoury.  

That said, with Viktor Gyokeres, Noni Madueke and Martin Odegaard now fully fit, Arsenal will hope to unleash considerable firepower to punish the visitors.  

There is also optimism that William Saliba could return, having missed the Chelsea due to a knock. His availability would be a significant boost.

While Piero Hincapie and Cristhian Mosquera have shown promise alongside Gabriel Magalhaes or Saliba, their pairing alone looked shaky in the intensity of Premier League battle.  

Should Saliba remain sidelined, Mikel Arteta would be wise to partner one of the youngsters with an experienced Gunner such as Riccardo Calafiori, Jurrien Timber or Ben White in central defence.  

He may however keep faith with the new pairing in defence to give them time to learn to play together.

With that in mind, here is the Arsenal line-up that could restore momentum:  

Raya  
Timber, Saliba, Hincapié, Calafiori  
Zubimendi, Rice, Eze  
Saka, Gyokeres, Martinelli  

On paper, this side should have enough quality to get the job done.  

A victory over Brentford would not only cement Arsenal's place at the summit of the league but also silence the critics who seized on the draw with Chelsea to question their credentials.