Brentford vs Arsenal

Brentford Community Stadium will become the 59th venue to host Premier League football as Brentford take on Arsenal in the 2021/22 curtain-raiser.

It had taken Brentford nine heartbreaking play-off defeats throughout several divisions before they finally managed to earn their first-ever Premier League promotion last season. After finishing third in the regular Championship season, the ‘Bees’ went on to overcome the likes of Bournemouth and Swansea City in the play-offs to set up their maiden Premier League campaign. Defensively robust, Brentford conceded an average of just 0.91 goals per Championship fixture last season. Additionally, they managed three clean sheets in six cup encounters against Premier League clubs in 2020/21 (W3, D1, L2 – 90 mins), showing they might not be pushovers this term. Brentford finished last season on a high note, racking up a ten-match unbeaten home league streak (W6, D4).

Meanwhile, Arsenal will be desperate to bounce back this season following back-to-back eighth-place finishes. A lack of European football for the first time in 26 years, coupled with a few new signings, could come in handy. Despite an utterly disappointing 2020/21 campaign, Arsenal can take confidence from a stunning form from Boxing Day onwards that saw them amass the second-most Premier League points behind Manchester City (47 – W14, D5, L5). What’s more, the ‘Gunners’ take the field on a promising seven-game undefeated league run away from home (W5, D2), during which they scored 2+ goals five times. Another noteworthy takeaway from Arsenal’s last season Premier League trips is that they registered shutouts in all three visits to newly-promoted sides (W2, D1).