Arsenal face a tough trip to the Gtech Community Stadium to face Brentford, who have impressed at home this season.
Admittedly, every game is as tough as the next for Arsenal, who need to treat every fixture as if it were a cup final.
As the media use Manchester City to apply pressure to Arsenal, the Gunners must remain focused and simply keep winning, starting with Brentford.
The Bees present a real challenge, particularly on the road, but the goal remains the same: take three points back to N5.
If you had one message for Mikel Arteta ahead of facing Brentford, what would it be?
Chris Sutton shares his Arsenal vs Brentford prediction
With a six-point lead at the summit, Arsenal just need to keep winning to keep Man City at bay.
A trip to Brentford will be far from easy, but Mikel Arteta’s side will fancy their chances.
Arsenal beat Brentford 2-0 when the two sides met at the Emirates in December, and in Chris Sutton’s eyes, the scoreline will be more of the same on matchday 26.
In his BBC Sport column, Sutton shared his prediction, fancying Arsenal to beat Brentford 0-2, but in a very specific way.
What changes would you make to our predicted Arsenal XI vs Brentford? 👀
First, the pundit suggested that Arsenal will take three points simply ‘because of their sheer power that means they can run through anything’.
He added that it won’t be the most entertaining game, going as far as to predict that Arsenal will score a deflected goal.
“[Arsenal will] find a way of scoring. A deflected goal will probably decide it,” he said.
It was very specific from Sutton, who has every confidence that Arsenal will claim their 18th win of the season.
Sutton’s Premier League title race prediction is frustrating
Arteta might be tempted to make changes against Brentford as the fixtures continue to come thick and fast.
The Arsenal manager won’t just be facing Brentford, but millions of rivals, who love to chime in about how the Gunners play.
What is Arsenal’s biggest title race threat, Man City or media pressure?
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Paul Scholes has already called Arsenal the worst team to win the Premier League, as those in the media are obsessed with Arteta’s playing style, something Sutton played up to in his column.
After backing Arsenal to win the title, the pundit likened Man City to beauty and Arsenal to the beast.
“As much as you want beauty to triumph over a beast, City are still far too flaky for that to happen.”
The narrative that Arsenal are boring to watch and play ugly football is very tired, supported by the fact that no team has generated more open-play expected goals (xG) than, you guessed it, the Gunners.
If anything, it’s fuel for Arteta to laugh in the face of adversity, with the only thing on the boss’s mind being the title.
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