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Key events
Today’s match officials
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Referee: Simon Hooper.
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Assistants: Adrian Holmes and Simon Long.
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Fourth official: Will Finnie.
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VAR: James Bell.
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Assistant VAR: Nick Greenhalgh.
Those teams: Unsurprisingly, Mikel Arteta makes five changes to the side that lined up against Real Madrid, with Jurrien Timber, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka and Mikel Merino all dropping to the bench for this evening’s game.
Kieran Tierney, Jorginho, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Leandro Trossard and EthanNwaneri come into the side that will face Brentford this evening. Jorginho will captain the side in the absence of Martin Odegaard. There’s no place for Ben White in the matchday squad, the defender having picked up a knock in training.
Thomas Frank makes just one chanfe to the Bees side that drew with Chelsea last time out. Vitaly Yanelt comes into midfield, with Yehor Yarmoliuk making way. Plagued with injury all season and yet to make his debut for Brentford after signing from Gremio last August, the 19-year-old winger Gustavo Nunes is on the bench after recovering from a back injury.
Arsenal v Brentford line-ups
Arsenal: Raya, Partey, Saliba, Kiwior, Tierney, Jorginho, Zinchenko, Rice, Nwaneri, Martinelli, Trossard.
Subs: Neto, Timber, Lewis-Skelly, Henry-Francis, Odegaard, Saka, Merino, Butler-Oyedeji, Sterling.
Brentford: Flekken; Ajer, Collins, Van den Berg, Lewis-Potter; Norgaard, Janelt, Damsgaard; Schade, Wissa, Mbeumo
Subs: Valdimarsson, Henry, Pinnock, Jensen, Mee, Yarmoliuk, Konak, Kayode, Nunes
Early team news
Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka may be rested after picking up knocks in the Real Madrid game, a state of affairs that could lead to Jorginho and Ethan Nwaneri getting starts. Raheem Sterling is also available after missing out on the Real Madrid game through suspension.
Gabriel, Kai Havertz, Riccardo Calafiori, Gabriel Jesus and Takehiro Tomiyasu all remain sidelined, although Mikel Arteta revealed yesterday that Havertz is likely to return from his hamstring injury before the end of the season.
For Brentford, Rico Henry is available for selection after returning from the hamstring injury that has kept him sidelined since January and could make what would be only his third appearance of the season. Fabio Carvalho, Aaron Hickey, Gustavo Nunes, Igor Thiago and Josh Dasilva all remain out.
Premier League: Arsenal v Brentford
High on the hog after their surprisingly emphatic Champions League quarter-final first leg win over Real Madrid, Arsenal host Brentford as they attempt to maintain their apparently forlorn pursuit of table-toppers Liverpool, who lead them by 11 points in the Premier League with just seven rounds of fixtures left to go.
Twelfth in the table with little left to play for beyond pride, Brentford go into this game having taken just five points from the past 15 available but will be hopeful of beating a side with more than one eye on Wednesday’s more important assignment at the Bernabeu. Kick-off at the Emirates is at 5.30pm (BST) but we’ll have team news and build-up in the meantime.
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