Key events
18 minutes: Brentford look very well organized at the moment, but I still think there is a split second of conceding every time Arsenal get into the final third.
It's been a long time since I played a soccer game on the computer, so I can't really appreciate this strange tracking thing. It feels like the playing field is moving.
16 minutes: Janelt takes a corner from the right. Toney heads towards the goal but directly at Ramsdale. The goalkeeper then plays a great pass upfield towards the out-field Trossard, but Roerslev returns just in time to stop his advance on the edge of the area.
I put on this trail camera and everything seems a little strange. I'll give you five minutes.
14 minutes: Janelt plays a beautiful dummy to allow Toney to receive the ball in the box, but he finds it difficult to create an angle to shoot and his shot is blocked. The loose ball is sent to the back post but then the flag is raised.
12 minutes: Lewis-Potter's free kick, after much waiting, is complete nonsense and goes straight for a goal kick.
Colin Young on the worst television innovation in football: “For me it has to be that 'artistic' repetition of slow-motion action at various speeds that European TV producers can't stop playing… Just keep it at a damn speed, you're not making film noir.”
10 minutes: Saka is very confident and looks lively on the right. Every time he receives the ball at least two Brentford Players get to it as quickly as possible.
Gabriel brings down Wissa with a tug of the shirt on the edge of the area and Brentford take a free kick in a dangerous position. Gabriel is reserved.
Richard Batsford on technology: “I can't do it with all the different cameras. For years it seemed like computer games were trying to emulate television coverage. Now television is desperate to look like a computer game. The game is over”.
8 minutes: Saka reaches the baseline and collects the ball, but Collins manages to reach it, so he clears it. Understandably, Arsenal have started in a very positive way. Brentford They have to play pretty deep to keep them at bay.
6 minutes: Raya is sitting behind the dugout wondering when her loan deal will become permanent.
4 minutes: Rice hits the first corner of the game but somehow evades everyone and goes out for a goal kick.
Onyeka with a strange lunge on Trossard near the halfway line and he is rightly booked.
2 minutes: Saka flies down the right and sends a cross to Trossard, but he cannot control the ball and the result is a corner.
Kick off
Peep! Peep! Peep! Here we go!
Sky Sports offers a fancy new trail camera, but my Luddite mind can't cope with it. Who remembers when we could see Sky in 3D? That seemed to be a disaster. Do you still make curved TVs? What is the worst innovation in football television coverage?
The players are in the tunnel…
Mikel Arteta: “Gabi (Martinelli) has not managed to survive, he cut his foot. Aaron is looking forward to it, he's been waiting for his chance.
Thomas Frank: “Hopefully after the game we were able to stop Arsenal. It is an incredibly difficult task against a team that is in great form, but each match has its own story. We know that we need to be in top shape.
“We need to play a perfect defensive game and have determination in the future.”
Karen Carney is on Sky, so read her in the scenes.
Charles Antaki Emails: “Ramsdale back? He will be delighted, but it could end up being a disaster for him: Raya was fine, everyone else in the team is purring very well, many clean sheets, very few defensive failures, a lot at stake to win, the usual suspects. by catastrophic slips, mix-ups and ill-conceived passes (the Parteys, the Zinchenkos) that don't play… All of this puts Ramsdale in the spotlight for things that go wrong. Then, he delight, tempered by the yawning abyss of humiliation and failure. Like any goalkeeper, I suppose, but with the trapdoor already creaking under his feet.”
While we wait …
It all starts in the Emirates.
Early drama at refereeing at the Emirates, where Andy Townsend is denied dinner for not having a meal voucher. His pleas that his producer, who has the vouchers, be giving an interview in the field fall on deaf ears.
Rules are rules and consistency has triumphed over common sense.
-Jonathan Wilson (@jonawils) March 9, 2024
A great day for Aaron Ramsdale who makes his first first division appearance since the return meeting in November. The goalkeeper is in because David Raya cannot play against his parent club. Will it be a little rusty?
Starting lineups
Arsenal (4-3-3): Ramsdale; Gabriel, Blanco, Kiwior, Saliba; Jorginho, Ødegaard, Rice; Saka, Trossard, Havertz
Substitutes: Hein, Cedric, Zinchenko, Partey, Vieira, Smith Rowe, Nelson, Nketiah, Jesús
Brentford (3-5-2): Flekken; Zanka, Ajer, Collins; Roerslev, Nørgaard, Lewis-Potter, Janelt, Onyeka; Wissa, Toney
Substitutes: Yarmoliuk, Jensen, Baptiste, Arthur, Damsgaard, Strakosha, Kim, Ghoddos, Maupay
Preamble
The important thing here for Arsenal is that a win puts them at the top of the table. They need to keep the pressure on Liverpool and Manchester City ahead of tomorrow's big game. The Gunners have won their last seven league games and few will back Brentford this afternoon. They will want to scare away the bees because their defense is fragile. Thomas Frank's team have struggled this season but should finish above the red line because others risk having points deducted and the bottom two are downright terrible.
Let's hope for a cookie!
Start: 5:30 p.m. GMT
