Arsenal vs Brentford: Preview and team news
By Joel Masibo, February 12, 2026In Arsenal’s final league action before a 10-day pause, Mikel Arteta’s men cross the capital to tackle high-flying Brentford on Thursday night, February 12, 2026, looking to protect their lead at the top of the table.
Having won four on the spin and keeping three clean sheets in the process, Arsenal will look to turn their attentions to the FA Cup after collecting the maximum points haul from the Gtech Community Stadium, something they have done in each of the past three campaigns.
Ahead of the tie, Brentford have been beaten just twice in 12 on their own patch this term under Keith Andrews’ guidance, albeit one of which was against Nottingham Forest on their last outing in west London.
A week before Christmas, the Bees found themselves in 15th spot, but six wins and a draw from the next nine have seen the Bees fly up the table. That includes a 1-0 success at Aston Villa at the start of the month when they played with 10 men for over half the game, and a 3-2 triumph at Newcastle United with Dango Outtarra netting the winners in both eye-catching triumphs.
They reached the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup before being eliminated by Manchester City, and travel to National League South side Macclesfield in the FA Cup fourth round following our clash, as hopes grow that a promising campaign could end with some sort of success.
Team news
Arteta will continue to assess the fitness of Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard ahead of the trip to west London, as the pair both sat out Arsenal’s wins against Chelsea and Sunderland last week. Mikel Merino has undergone surgery on his foot injury, while Max Dowman is still out with an ankle issue.
Brentford will be without Kevin Schade, who was red-carded in the win at Villa a fortnight ago, while Reiss Nelson is ineligible to play against his parent club.
Fabio Carvalho and Antoni Milambo are out long-term with serious knee injuries, as is Josh Dasilva, who has been out for over two years but recently signed a short-term contract with the Bees as he continues his recovery attempt.
Talking tactics
It will be interesting to see which formation Brentford opt for in this encounter. They switched to 5-3-2 in the reverse fixture, but have been performing very well in a 4-2-3-1, a shape that allows winger Ouatarra to use his pace.
Brentford have created 76 ‘big chances’, a tally which puts them one ahead of us, and two behind Manchester City, which is seriously impressive, with Thiago working insatiably hard to put defenders under pressure.
Boasting strong running power, good aerial ability and sharp movement inside the box, the clinical Brazilian has been a revelation in 2025/26, netting 17 times.
Going forward, Brentford are sure to be dangerous, but when put under pressure, their rearguard is not always watertight, and they have failed to keep a clean sheet in nine of their 12 home games.
Facts and stats
Brentford have won just one of their last 14 games against Arsenal in all competitions, going winless in their last nine since their first-ever Premier League game in August 2021.
The Bees have won just one of their last 11 league London derbies, failing to score in each of their last five. They’ve failed to win any of their last seven on home soil since a 2-1 win against Crystal Palace in August 2024.
Arsenal lost just one of their last 23 London derbies in the Premier League, going unbeaten in 10 stretching back to February 2025. Meanwhile, since the start of 2022/23, the Gunners have lost just one of our 20 away derbies.
Brentford lost 2-0 against Nottingham Forest in their last home league game, ending a seven-game unbeaten run at the Gtech Community Stadium. Since the start of last season, they’ve only lost consecutive home league games twice.