In-form Arsenal host London city rivals Brentford on Saturday night to have a chance to temporarily top the Premier League table.
Mikel Arteta's Gunners beat Sheffield United 6-0 in an outright victory on Monday night, while Brentford drew 2-2 with west London neighbours Chelsea.
As Arsenal continue to dominate the Premier League, some of their top rivals may already be embarking on a mid-season trip to Dubai. After a successful 'visit' to the Brammel Lane stadium on Monday, the Gunners have now scored 31 goals in seven Premier League games in 2024.
To the frustration of Sheffield United fans, they had to witness the Gunners' victory early just 25 minutes into the game. Because by this time, Arsenal had already taken a 4-0 lead, thanks to goals from Gabriel Martinelli, Martin Odegaard, Kai Havertz and an own goal from Jayden Bogle. Declan Rice's brilliant goal helped the team to a five-star performance just before half-time.
Ben White sealed Arsenal's joint-biggest win on the road in the Premier League with a left-footed finish, and it was the first team in the Gunners' history to win at least five goals in three consecutive away games, having previously beaten Burnley and West Ham United.
With neither Liverpool nor Manchester City returning to Premier League action on Sunday, with at least one of those teams dropping points in the spotlight at Anfield, Arsenal will move up to first place if they pick up their eighth consecutive Premier League win on Saturday.
The six-goal win over Sheffield also means that none of the other 19 teams can match Arsenal's insane 68 goals and +45 goal difference – their 23 goals conceded in defence is already one of the best records. Another strong win would be the perfect warm-up for next week's Champions League last-16 second leg against Porto.
They also suffered a six-goal defeat in Brentford's most recent away fixture, losing 2-4 under the onslaught of West Ham United. It was Thomas Frank's side's third straight defeat in the Premier League. However, when Chelsea arrived at Brentford's home stadium, the Bees halted their decline for the time being.
Maz Rolslaw's opening Premier League goal of the season and Joan Wiesa's stunning barbed strike turned the tide of the west London derby after Nicholas Jackson's opening goal, but Axel Disasi stole a point for the Blues in the 83rd minute.
Ahead of the away game against set-piece specialist Arsenal, the defeat of Pochettino's side with two headers was a wake-up call for Brentford. However, with a Premier League draw for the first time since October, 15th-placed Brentford's gap to the relegation zone has widened to six points, although they have played one more game than 18th-placed Luton Town.
Poor away form has been one of the main factors in Brentford's relegation woes, with them losing seven of their last eight Premier League away games – with the only exception being a 2-0 win at home to Wolves. So far, Frank's team has dropped 28 points that could have been won in the 2023-24 season.
Injuries and illnesses
Arsenal welcomed Thomas Partey back against Sheffield United, who missed almost five months with a thigh problem. However, Martinelli and Bukayo Saka were unable to play the full game due to foot injuries and illnesses respectively. Bukayo Saka is expected to return from injury in time, but given next week's game against Porto, Arteta could opt for either Leandro Trossard or Gabriel Jesus to start in place of Martinelli.
Takehiro Tomiyasu and Oleksandr Zinchenko are also on the verge of returning from injury, so only Timber, who has suffered a torn knee ligament, and goalkeeper Daya Raya, who joined Brentford on loan, will miss the game.
In contrast, Brentford have had no new injury situation against Chelsea, but none of their seven injured players will be able to return ahead of the international break. Mbeu, Saud, Hickey, Pinok, Thierry Henry and Da Silva are all continuing**, while Frank announced after the draw with Chelsea that Ben Mee will miss the remainder of the season with an ankle fracture against West Ham.
Arsenal are currently in hot form and full of attacking power, while Brentford have a poor away record and are leaky in defence. Hence ArsenalThe possibility of temporarily topping the Premier League is very high!