Arsenal line-ups vs Brentford as Mikel Arteta revamps attack with triple change

football.london reporters have their go at selecting their Arsenal starting XIs for the trip to Brentford

Arsenal are back in Premier League action on Thursday when they look to navigate an awkward trip across London to Brentford.

Keith Andrews’ buzzing Bees are having quite the season and while they did lose 2-0 at the Emirates Stadium in December, they are not to be taken lightly.

Mikel Arteta’s Gunners are striving to keep their cool in the title race ahead of Sunday’s fourth-round FA Cup clash against Wigan Athletic.

Arsenal are waiting to hear whether Martin Odegaard, Leandro Trossard and Bukayo Saka will be fit for the contest.

In the meantime, football.london reporters Tom Canton (chief Arsenal correspondent) and Ryan Taylor have named their starting XIs for the meeting.

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Tom Canton – Chief Arsenal Reporter

When Arsenal know they have a home FA Cup tie against Wigan this weekend, that is where we will see plenty of rotation and chances for some players with fewer minutes.

Mikel Arteta can go very strong here and not need to worry about that, but the same is arguably the same for the Bees who travel to Macclesfield who knocked out Crystal Palace last month.

I would like to see Gabriel Martinelli rewarded with a start in this game and play from the right in place of Noni Madueke. I also want to see Viktor Gyokeres paired with a right-footed right-sided player to see if this aids his chance creation, and the pair have combined to score in the last two league games against Sunderland and Leeds United.

Elsewhere, Piero Hincapie returns at left-back after Riccardo Calafiori had a chaotic and rusty game against the Black Cats. The Ecuadorian has been a safer pair of hands lately and so starts here.

Kai Havertz continues in the second striker role, another who had really helped to boost Gyokeres’ form of late too. Big expectations are here to stay for Arteta’s side. Canton’s Arsenal XI vs Brentford: Raya, Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Hincapie; Zubimendi, Rice, Havertz, Martinelli, Gyokeres, Trossard

Ryan Taylor

TC is bang on the money in my opinion. Piero Hincapie should definitely be considered as Brentford will look to make tomorrow’s game a physical battle.

Hincapie is a beast when it comes to duels and Riccardo Calafiori also struggled in this fixture last season when Bryan Mbeumo cut inside the Italian for the opener.

Obviously Mbeumo isn’t with the Bees anymore but it just feels as though this is a game that might suit Hincapie’s defensive style as Arsenal need to be compact.

The rest of the defence is as you would expect and I’m backing Kai Havertz to keep his place in midfield alongside Martin Zubimendi and Declan Rice.

I would like to see Gabriel Martinelli start on the right as Noni Madueke was poor against Sunderland while Viktor Gyokeres is a shoo-in at centre-forward following his brace against the Black Cats. If fit, Leandro Trossard should start on the left. Taylor’s Arsenal XI vs Brentford: Raya, Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori; Zubimendi, Rice, Havertz, Martinelli, Gyokeres, Trossard