Brentford To Sting An Arsenal Crowd On Cloud Nine

Declan Rice’s free-kick double delivered euphoria to The Emirates crowd, gift wrapped in a shiny gold bow with a one-way ticket to the Champions League semi-final attached. Real Madrid fans and players might disagree, but the Spaniards have left a mountain to climb – even by their standards.

The now imposing lure of the semi-final will force Arteta and his backroom staff to consciously take their eye off the Premier League ball. There is no need to keep chasing Liverpool. Arne Slot has all but won the title in his first season on Merseyside. There is no fight for the title – Liverpool find themselves in the tenth round versus 19 weary opponents with the judges in unanimous favour, waiting for the final bell in only a few moments.

Does that open the door for a positive Brentford result on the weekend? Sam Ingram is leaning towards Brentford being the value selection at the Emirates.

“Get your feet up, lads”

Despite BETSiE projecting Arsenal 1.74xG – 0.75xG Brentford for the weekend’s game, based on the underlying data and accompanying data sets, there has to be a line of thinking that we won’t see the typical Arsenal side we’re used to seeing. Given the circumstances, it’s not outlandish to believe that Mikel Arteta changes his starting eleven, looks to preserve energy, and refrains from utilising any of his big guns off the bench.

Could you blame him? Arsenal’s biggest game of the last decade is on the horizon and it’s poised beautifully. Beautiful it may be, but we know Real Madrid have a thirst for the unthinkable. The unimaginable often rears its head when Real Madrid and the Champions League link arms. Jude Bellingham sent a warning post-match by saying “One place where crazy things happen is our house”. Their opponents won’t believe the tie is over – not by a long shot.

In this instance, that might prove to be a good thing for Brentford-backers. Arteta will be acutely aware that he can’t take a 0-3 lead at the Bernabeu for granted, regardless of how unlikely some might think a comeback victory is.

We might see wholesale changes against Brentford, similar to the previous Premier League fixture versus Everton. The likes of Oleksandr Zinchenko and Kieran Tierney, who didn’t make the starting eleven for Everton, might be drafted in alongside a selection of more youthful faces. If I was Arteta, I’d rope a few Under 21s in for one weekend only.

Bees Enjoying Their Travels

The Asian Handicap line is set at -1.0AH for Arsenal. The Gunners have won just one (5-1 vs Manchester City) of their last eight home league matches by more than one goal.

They prepare for a Brentford outfit that has taken the lead in nine out of 15 (60%) away league games this season, four of which have reared its head in the past six matches.

Interestingly, in 2025, The Bees are the best away team in the Premier League in terms of points returned. The 15 points earned this calendar year sits two ahead of Crystal Palace and Arsenal (13) and 13 ahead of a Chelsea (2) side without a victory in 2025.

Brentford’s away form should offer a level of reassurance when opposing Arsenal at the Emirates. On any other week, this Asian Handicap line might be one to swerve against an Arsenal side in full flow. Considering the circumstances and the scheduling we see in front of us, there’s a case to be made against the Gunners on the weekend.

Safer Gambling

At bettingexpert, we always take a safe approach to gambling. We’ll never bet more than we can afford or chase losses. For more advice, head to our Safer Gambling hub.