Brentford v Arsenal: Premier League – live

11 min: Arsenal have enjoyed 83 percent of possession so far.

10 min: Nwaneri hits the corner long. Martinelli wins a header at the far stick, sending the ball back across the face of goal, but there’s nobody there for Arsenal. Had there been, it was an easy prod home.

9 min: Nwaneri turns on the jets to win a corner out on the right. The first big set-piece test coming up for the hosts.

8 min: Odegaard, probing down the right, swings a diagonal towards Martinelli, who tries to cushion the ball into the path of the in-rushing Nwaneri. Not quite, and Brentford clear their lines, but that was a lovely move by Arsenal, who are dominating these early exchanges.

6 min: Martinelli tries to skin Roerslev down the left but eventually runs the ball out for a goal kick.

4 min: A bit of space for Lewis-Potter down the left. He crosses low in the hope of finding Mbeumo in the middle, but Raya reads the danger and flops on the ball.

3 min: Jesus runs slap-bang into Norgaard and takes an accidental whack in the ribs. For a second it looks worrying for the striker, and Arsenal, but he’s just winded and is soon back up and running.

2 min: Arsenal pass it around patiently, then Partey feeds Jesus down the inside-right channel. Jesus cuts back to nobody in particular, but that’s a confident start by Arsenal.

Brentford get the ball rolling. Mikel Arteta already on the edge of his technical area geeing up his troops.

The teams are out! Brentford in their red and white stripes, Arsenal in third-choice lilac and light blue. A rare old atmosphere at the Gtech. We’ll be off in a minute.

Mikel Arteta talks to TNT. “There have been a lot of highs … we have broken so many records … but the reality is the team don’t have the big titles we are looking for … there’s a gap there we have to fill … we have nine games this month so we have to be careful with the size of the squad we have … it is very difficult … we will try our best … Nwaneri has a great opportunity today … Jesus looks really sharp … a lot of energy … Brentford have been together for a long time … it is always really tough … we are going to have to be really good to win the game.”

Thomas Frank speaks to TNT Sports. “We keep building … adding layers … we are never satisfied … always want more … so what a way to start 2025 against Arsenal, one of the best teams in the world … we need to show our best side and get our fans with us … no matter who we put out there, we are very competitive … I am convinced we will be competitive today … running power in midfield is necessary today … Arsenal are very, very good on set pieces … we are also very, very good on set pieces so it is going to be an interesting battle.”

Brentford make two changes to their starting XI after the goalless draw at Brighton. Sepp van den Berg and Yehor Yarmolyuk are in; Kevin Schade drops to the bench while Ben Mee is injured.

Arsenal make four changes after their narrow home win over Ipswich. Riccardo Calafiori, Thomas Partey, Mikel Merino and Ethan Nwaneri are in. The 17-year-old Nwaneri is making his first Premier League start. Myles Lewis-Skelly, Declan Rice and Leandro Trossard are benched, while Kai Havertz is ill and misses out altogether.

The teams

Preamble