Arsenal vs Brentford Predictions

• Brentford have won five of their last six league away matches
• All but three of the Bees’ last 14 league games on the road have featured at least three goals.
• Arsenal have lost just once at the Emirates in the league this season.

Gunners flying high after victory over Madrid

Arsenal enjoyed one of their greatest nights since moving to the Emirates Stadium when they beat Real Madrid 3-0 in the Champions League on Tuesday and the faithful should still be buzzing when Brentford head across London to face the Gunners on Saturday.

Midfielder Declan Rice inspired the victory with two finely taken free-kicks and gave Mikel Arteta’s side a huge lift as they look set to finish second in the Premier League for the third successive season.

Everton are the only team in the top flight to have drawn more games than the Gunners’ total of 11 and that is what has allowed Liverpool to open a 11-point gap at the summit, despite Arsenal having the league’s tightest defence.

They have lost just once at home in the league this season, but they can ill-afford to take a win over the Bees for granted.

Bees are no longer soft touch on the road

Brentford are in a position to take advantage if their opponents are still revelling in their midweek exploits and Thomas Frank’s side have proved they are no longer easy to see off when playing on the road.

They took just two points from their opening nine away games of the campaign, but clicked into gear in the new year, collecting successive victories at Southampton, Crystal Palace, West Ham, Leicester and Bournemouth.

Even in their winless run, they scored in six of those nine outings and they are unlikely to sit back as they look to catch Arsenal offguard.

It may not be enough to emulate West Ham’s achievement of winning at the Emirates, but they can score, so backing the Gunners to win with both teams finding the net could prove profitable, with a 3-1 home win of potential interest to correct-score punters.

Merino can make it four in a row

Much was made of Arsenal not signing a striker in January but while Rice claimed most of the midweek headlines, Mikel Merino was on the mark again too and he can get one the scoresheet once more on Saturday.

The Spaniard appears to be flourishing in a more advanced role and that was the third successive home match in which he has netted after he scored the opener in a 2-1 win over Fulham and the winner in the 1-0 win over Chelsea, so he could maintain his rich vein of goalscoring form.