Team news
Brentford are hopeful that goalkeeper Mark Flekken, who went off injured in the goalless draw at Brighton, will be fit to play.
Defender Ben Mee faces a couple of weeks out after also limping off in that fixture but Sepp van den Berg and Mathias Jensen are set to return while Christian Norgaard has shaken off a knock and is also available.
Arsenal’s Oleksandr Zinchenko, who hasn’t played for almost a month because of a calf issue, could feature after being an unused substitute in the win over Ipswich.
Raheem Sterling’s knee injury is not as serious as initially been feared, but this game is likely to come too soon.
Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu remain out with knee injuries, while Bukayo Saka is recovering from hamstring surgery.
Match facts
Head to head
Brentford
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Despite that defeat, Brentford have the joint-best home form in the Premier League this season, along with leaders Liverpool.
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They have won their first league game in each of the last five calendar years, and are unbeaten in their last six played on New Year’s Day (W4, D2).
Arsenal
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This will be Arsenal’s ninth consecutive top-flight game in London (five home, four away), the longest such run in their league history.
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Arsenal have lost their first league game in only one of the last nine calendar years (W6, D2), going down 2-1 at home to Man City on New Year’s Day 2022.