Arsenal vs Brentford LIVE: Kick-off time, team news and how to follow as Gunners look to maintain momentum

After the magic of Tuesday night against Real Madrid, it is back to the Premier League for Arsenal this weekend as they host Brentford.

The Gunners provided one of the greatest nights the Emirates has ever seen in midweek by smashing the Champions League holders 3-0 in the first leg of their quarter-final clash.

Arsenal via Getty

Declan Rice was the hero as he scored two outstanding free-kicks.

Incredibly, they were the first he’s ever scored in his career before Mikel Merino added a third with a sweet finish.

It means Mikel Arteta‘s men head to Spain next week with a commanding lead.

But they need to focus on the top-flight before that, and Brentford are always tricky.

The Bees have won five of their last six on the road, so this will be a test.

Arsenal vs Brentford: Rice Rice baby

When Rice stepped up to take that first free-kick against Real, it’s unlikely many people thought he was going to bend it around the wall and into the net.

Nicolas Jover, the Gunners’ set-piece coach, even told the Englishman to cross it.

But thankfully, he ignored that and produced a special effort.

Then, when they got another one ten minutes later, no-one saw him doing it again, but he took the wall out of the equation and arrowed a stunning strike into the top corner.

We will see these free-kicks over and over again for a long time, and with good reason.

Arsenal and England might just have found a new set-piece taker.

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• Arsenal have lost just one of their 10 home games against Brentford in all competitions (W5 D4), going down 2-0 at Highbury in April 1938.
• Having beaten Arsenal 2-0 in their first ever Premier League match in August 2021, Brentford have now lost five of their last six against the Gunners in the competition (D1).
• Arsenal have lost just one of their last 15 Premier League London derbies (W12 D2), going down 1-0 against West Ham in February. They’ve scored at least five goals in five of these 15 matches.

Arsenal vs Brentford: Team news

Ahead of the second leg against Real Madrid in the Champions League, there could be some rotation.

Bukayo Saka has only just returned from a long-term injury, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if he was on the bench.

Thomas Partey, Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Martinelli could all find themselves also being used as substitutes.

That could see Leandro Trossard, Ethan Nwaneri and Jorginho come into the team.

Brentford have several long-term issues, with Aaron Hickey, Rico Henry and Josh Dasilva all out.

Igor Thiago is back in some form of training, while Fabio Carvalho has a shoulder problem.

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• Brentford have won their last two away London derby matches in the Premier League, having lost seven in a row on the road before this.
• Since the start of December, Arsenal have conceded just 12 goals in their 18 Premier League games. They’ve only conceded more than once in one of these games, a 2-2 home draw against Aston Villa.
• Brentford have won five of their last six Premier League away games (L1). However, the only exception in this run was in their last match at Newcastle United (1-2).

Arsenal vs Brentford: What has been said?

After masterminding that wonderful win over Real, Arteta wants focus on the second leg.

He said: “It’s on nights like this, that you can write your own history. It came from the collective and individual quality of our players. And now we have a lot more to give.

“We’re going to enjoy the win but we know it’s half-time and we’re going to have to be even better in Madrid.

“I was very convinced [this could happen]. I could sense in the build-up we could create a lot of problems.

“But you have to make it happen. If you have that mindset and belief it can happen, you can deliver it. We did that but it’s only half-time.”

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• Brentford have scored 51 goals from 359 shots in the Premier League this season, a conversion rate of 14.2% – the highest of any side in the division this term. On the other hand, the Bees have conceded 47 goals from 548 shots faced, a rate of 8.6%, with only Nottingham Forest (8.5%) conceding a lower ratio of goals to shots faced in the competition in 2024-25.
• Bukayo Saka has been involved in 12 goals in his last 11 home games for Arsenal in the Premier League (6 goals, 6 assists), netting what proved to be the winner against Fulham last time out on home soil.
• Christian Nørgaard has either scored (2) or assisted (1) 50% of Brentford’s Premier League goals against Arsenal (3/6). He’s also scored in two of his last three away games in the competition.
• With eight goals and seven assists, Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka has been directly involved in 15 goals in his last 17 London derby appearances in the Premier League.

Arsenal vs Brentford: Date and how to follow

This Premier League game is set to take place on Saturday, April 12.

Kick-off at the Emirates is scheduled for 5:30pm.

The game will be shown on Sky Sports Main Event and Premier League.

Sky Go customers will be able to watch through their laptops and mobile devices.

Alternatively, a NOW TV pass can be purchased that will show the match. Head here for more information on packages.

talkSPORT will have updates throughout the afternoon and talkSPORT.com will have all the action in our dedicated Premier League blog.

To tune in to talkSPORT through the website, click HERE for the live stream.

You can also listen via the talkSPORT app, on DAB digital radio, through your smart speaker and on 1089 or 1053 AM.