Arsenal v Brentford: Key stats and talking points

Leaders Arsenal continue their title quest against a Brentford side that has won just once on the road so far this season.

BBC Sport examines some of the key themes before their meeting at Emirates Stadium.

Arsenal struggle at set-pieces

Arsenal's lead at the top of the table has been cut to two points following the 1-1 draw at 10-man Chelsea on Sunday and Manchester City's win at Fulham on Tuesday night.

Gunners boss Mikel Areta said his side "could and should have" won following the draw at Stamford Bridge after playing with a numerical advantage for close to an hour.

Coming from behind to earn a draw, however, is not the worst ending to a week that also encompassed a convincing triumph in the north London derby and a European victory over Bayern Munich. That result left Arsenal as the sole leaders of the Champions League league phase table, particularly satisfying given the loss of key players.

At Stamford Bridge, Arsenal started a Premier League game without either Gabriel or William Saliba for only the second time since the start of 2022-23. The duo were missed in both boxes as Arteta's side conceded the opening goal from a corner and failed to provide their usual threat from set-pieces in the opposition box.

Brentford's long-throw battery

Next up for Arsenal, it is a Brentford side that provide their own brand of set-piece threat via Michael Kayode's battery of long throws. With Gabriel and Saliba again set to miss out because of injury, Arsenal's ability to defend their own box is likely to be tested once more.

The impact of Keith Andrews, initially as set-piece coach and now as head coach, has been clear on the Bees, with the west London club scoring twice as many goals from long throws than any other Premier League side since the start of last season.

Brentford have put 181 long throws into the box during this period – at least 69 more than any other side - while they have recorded a league-high 61 shots following a long throw.

However, even though Brentford could threaten an Arsenal team missing their preferred central defenders, supporters may also have to be realistic about their current form on the road.

Their solitary away win so far in this campaign came at West Ham United on 20 October, with Andrews' men losing all five other league outings away from home.

The Bees' poor away record is not, however, down to making poor starts: since the start of May, they have scored the opening goal in an unrivalled seven away games but have gone on to win just two.