The 2021-22 Premier League season starts on Friday with new boys Brentford hosting Arsenal in a London derby.
The Gunners ended last season with five consecutive wins and bookmaker 10Bet has the odds at 1.90 for another victory here. The odds are at 4.10 for a Brentford win and at 3.75 for the draw.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: August 12th, 8:30 A.M. (EST)
It’s the first top-flight game for Brentford since 1947 and it promises to be a very special occasion at the Brentford Community Stadium. The West London side suffered heartbreak in the 2020 Championship playoff final against Fulham but finally made it to the promised land by beating Swansea in the 2021 final.
The Bees were the biggest entertainers in the Championship last season with a league-high 79 goals and they should be exciting to watch in the Premier League as well.
Brentford’s attack is led by Ivan Toney who completely crushed it in the second tier last term with 33 goals in 47 appearances. The 25-year-old isn’t your typical big and powerful center forward but he’s good at holding up the ball and his movement off the ball is a nightmare for every defender.
Many prolific Championship strikers tend to struggle when they make the step up to the bigger league, but Toney seems perfectly built for the Premier League and manager Thomas Frank just has to make sure that his goal machine gets proper service.
Arsenal beat Brentford 3-1 when these two sides last met in a League Cup tie back in 2018 but a lot has changed since then. The Gunners have finished eighth in two consecutive seasons and they only barely made it into the top half in 2020-21.
Mikel Arteta’s team has a habit of blowing hot and cold, and the inconsistency has proven costly with this season being the first one in 25 years in which Arsenal doesn’t participate in any European competitions.
The North Londoners had the third-best defensive record in the Premier League last season, but the team lacked creativity and getting goals was a major problem throughout the campaign.
Following a pair of 22-goal seasons, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang ended up having a horrible down year and the Arsenal captain has to do much better for the team to get back into top-four conversations. Especially with the club failing to get any attacking reinforcements during the summer.
Beating Brentford will be vital for Arsenal as they face heavy-hitters Man City and Chelsea in the next two matchweeks. Arteta’s team could easily be back to square one after showing signs of progression with a nice winning streak at the end of last season.
