When I was a little boy watching Brentford in Division Four in the 1970s, my late dad used to recall the Bees’ glory days from the 1930s and always used to say to me “Brentford were Arsenal’s bogey team”.
It was his favourite stat, but he was right – in eight meetings before World War Two, the Bees won five, drew two and only lost one.
My dad, who introduced me to Brentford, is sadly no longer with us, but how proud he would have been this Friday night to see his beloved Bees not only open the Premier League season – but to make our debut in the competition against the Gunners.
A fixture like this would have been inconceivable even 10 years ago, but because of the astonishing progress our club has made in that time, the two sides will meet as equals at the Brentford Community Stadium.
Arsenal have not done as well as they would have liked in recent seasons – in fact they have failed to finish in the Premier League’s top four in any of the past five campaigns.
They have come eighth in each of the last two years, with last season’s finish meaning they haven’t qualified for Europe for the first time in 26 years.
Most of Arsenal’s recent success has come in the FA Cup. They have won the competition four times in the past eight years, making them the tournament’s most successful club with 14 tournament victories to their name.
WHO’S IN CHARGE
Former Arsenal midfielder Mikel Arteta returned to the Emirates as manager in December 2019 to replace Unai Emery.
He had spent three years as an assistant coach at Manchester City, working alongside Pep Guardiola.
The former Spanish international midfielder, who won 12 full caps for his country, played for Barcelona’s B team before a loan spell at Paris St Germain, which was followed by a move to Rangers.
A brief spell at Real Sociedad followed, before he started a six-year spell with Everton in 2005. He then spent five years at Arsenal, where he was captain for two years before hanging up his boots.
WE’VE MET BEFORE
As mentioned earlier, Brentford and Arsenal were regular opponents in the second half of the 30s – and also very briefly after World War Two.
The very first meeting took place at Griffin Park in November 1935 with the Bees, promoted the previous season, taking on the Gunners, champions in each of the past three campaigns.
The match was eagerly anticipated, with the matchday programme calling it “the game we have all waited for”.
The programme added: “A year or two ago the only hope of getting the Arsenal to Griffin Park seemed to lay in being drawn against the Highbury club in the FA Cup, but it is better than that for the Bees are now operating in the same sphere, and the Arsenal now come of their free will and accord to fulfil a First Division engagement at Griffin Park.
“May the game be worthy of the occasion and if the players can forget that it is a London ‘Derby’ game, it surely will be.”
The Bees had made a slow start to life in the top flight and going into the match were 18th in the 22-team table, with nine points from 11 games, leaving us one point above the relegation zone. Arsenal, by contrast, were fourth with 14 points from 12 games – three points behind leaders Sunderland.
But Brentford upset the formbook as JC Burns drove home a 28th-minute opener and Dai Hopkins doubled the lead eight minutes later. Ray Parkin pulled one back with 10 minutes to go, but the Bees held on for a famous victory.
The club had expected a record crowd of 40,000 for the match, but stories in the papers suggesting that Griffin Park may not be able to hold so many people, put some fans off and in the end only 34,000 turned up,
Highlights below:
The return the following April was a 1-1 draw and at the end of the season Brentford finished in our highest-ever league position of fifth in the top flight – one place and one point ahead of the Gunners.
Our other league meetings finished (Brentford score first):
1936/37 – (H) W 2-0 (A) D 1-1
1937/38 – (H) W 3-0 (A) W 2-0
1938/39 – (H) W 1-0 (A) L 0-2
1946/47 – (H) L 0-1 (A) D 2-2
The home match in May 1947 was famously our last top flight match until this Friday – so it is fitting that Arsenal are once again our visitors.
We have of course played Arsenal much more recently – in the third round of the Carabao Cup in 2018/19, going down to a 3-1 defeat.
Danny Welbeck scored at either end of the first half to put the Gunners in charge and although Alan Judge gave us hope by curling in a direct free-kick in front of the 8,000 travelling Bees fans in the 58th minute, substitute Alexandre Lacazette confirmed the victory in stoppage-time.
DID YOU KNOW?
In 1939, the players from Brentford and Arsenal were featured in a murder mystery film called The Arsenal Stadium Mystery.
Set at the Gunners’ former home Highbury, it features action from the meeting between the two sides on the last day of the 1938/39 season, with the Bees wearing white shirts and cast as fictitious amateur side the Trojans.
Several Arsenal players and staff along with manager George Allison all appear.
ARSENAL ANALYSED
BBC Radio London commentator and presenter Phil Parry looks ahead to a historic night at the Brentford Community Stadium, where he will be commentating on the match.
Q – What an opening fixture for Brentford, could we have had a better first game than Arsenal at home?
A – There of course have been some cheeky suggestions that a home game against one of the Premier League’s “Big Teams” would have been more attractive, a little dig at the Gunners’ recent league placings and the fact that this season they won’t even be in Europe.
But in reality, a London derby against a club with pedigree, the historical significance of the last top flight game for the Bees, and the fact it will be under the lights all adds up to a special night. Arsenal will provide an interesting test but also it being the opening game, there will be no doubt a feeling that the north Londoners could be beaten. I for one am certainly looking forward to it.
Q – The Gunners haven’t finished in the top four in any of the past five seasons? How would you rate their chances of ending that run in the new season?
A – Dropping out of the Champions League places has been hard to take for Arsenal, who were virtually guaranteed a spot during most of Arsene Wenger’s time at the club. And having been out of the top four for a while, it’s not easy to climb back in.
After missing out on European competition completely this season some investment was required, and Mikel Arteta has been allowed to spend money. Then again so have their potential rivals for those coveted spots at the top of the table and perhaps the Gunners are still a little way off from being seen as real challengers, so would have to carry the “outsiders” mantle.
There will be an expectation to improve on last season, which will add to the pressure felt in the dugout and the boardroom.
Q – How good a job has Mikel Arteta done since taking charge?
A – Initially it appeared that Arteta had hit the ground running with both silverware and a seeming culture change at the club. Winning the FA Cup and then starting last season with success in the Community Shield provoked optimism that perhaps the corner had been turned for the club on the pitch. But the first half of the season lacked any consistency and pressure started to mount on Arteta despite being so recently appointed.
There was some improvement after the halfway point, and they finished the domestic campaign with a series of wins following disappointment in the Europa League to the eventual winners Villarreal (managed by the man Arteta replaced, Unai Emery). But last season the Gunners scored their lowest number of goals in a season during the Premier League era, and by the end of the campaign the assessment was that season 2021/22 will be a big one for the head coach.
Q – What have their pre-season performances been like?
A – The general consensus from what I’ve heard, read and seen is that the pre-season has been a little uninspiring for the Gunners faithful. Of course what coaching staff are particularly looking for is performance, fitness and getting some game time, but fans also look at results. Defeats to Chelsea and Spurs, despite it being pre-season, will not have augured well and not inspired confidence as the side face a tough start to the season.
Last weekend’s loss at Tottenham did see a couple of the new signings, Ben White and Albert Sambi Lokonga, get a runout and that will be seen as a positive. Pre-season is no real way to judge how things will go for a team during the season, but it can help lift confidence.
Q – Ben White looks a good signing, but what other transfer business have they done this summer?
A – Like many clubs Arsenal will not be involved in the transfer market for another couple of weeks looking to further bolster their numbers. White does look a good signing having starred for Brighton and England, and is of a good age as well as having good pedigree.
Also coming in so far this close season are full back Nuno Tavares and midfielder Albert Sambi Lokonga. They, like White, are young, both 21, and fit in with the desire expressed from the stands to freshen things up. But the Gunners are still in the market, with a goalkeeper high on their list as well as at least one player in the attacking third, names have included James Maddison, Tammy Abraham and Martin Odegaard, who was on loan at the club last year.
Q – How do you think they will cope with Brentford’s style of play?
A – It should be an attractive game for the season’s opener, with Arsenal no doubt wanting to play possession football and controlling the tempo. They will have to cope with the fact that the Bees’ style will test them, not just in gaining possession, but coping with the potential pace and attacking verve that Thomas Frank’s team have.
Defensively Brentford will make it difficult for Arsenal to break through, and the Gunners will have to be astute to create chances.
Q – Who are the key men to watch out for in the Arsenal side?
A – Emile Smith Rowe has had a breakthrough in the last year or so, and is a young player that the Arsenal supporters and more neutral observers have been very positive about. Bukayo Saka likewise is seen as the future for the club.
But for the Gunners to improve on last year, Mikel Arteta is going to have to get a tune out of some of the experienced players too. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alex Lacazette have the capability to hurt defences, they’ve just not been showing it enough.
Q – Finally, can you give me an idea of a probable Gunners line-up and formation please?
A – Leno
Bellerin White Mari Tierney
Lokonga Xhaka
Saka Smith-Rowe Aubameyang
Lacazette
HOW TO FOLLOW THE GAME IF YOU CAN’T BE THERE
If you can’t get to the Brentford Community Stadium for Friday’s sold-out 8pm kick-off, there are various ways of following the game.
TV – The match is being shown live on Sky Sports, with coverage starting at 7.00.
Radio – Live commentary on all platforms is available on BBC Radio London with Phil Parry, Billy Reeves and Steve Brown, with build-up from 7.00. There is also live commentary on BBC Radio 5 Live,
iFollow – If you want Brentford commentary, iFollow audio coverage is available again this season via monthly or seasonal passes. Coverage starts half an hour before kick-off and is advert-free and on Friday night, Mark Burridge and Karleigh Osborne are your commentators.
IAN WESTBROOK
@ianwestbrook
PUBS IN BRENTFORD AND TRAVEL NEWS
For Arsenal fans coming to the Brentford Community Stadium for the first time, there are plenty of pub options pre-match and all are most welcoming and away-fan-friendly (as it should be).
When at Griffin Park, Brentford was well known for its four pubs – one on each corner of the ground. Three are still operating – The Griffin is closest to the old away end and has always been very popular with away fans – but also very, very busy. The New Inn is on the other side and has also been popular with away fans. The Brook pub is the other option if you want to be around what is left of our old home.
From the New Inn, you can walk down Green Dragon Lane and then turn left on to Kew Bridge Road where you will find the Express Tavern – an ale pub with a retro feel. If you sit in the garden, you can see our new stadium towering over you.
Across the road is One Over the Ait – a spacious boozer right next to Kew Bridge. This pub is situated on the location of the now-demolished Oxford & Cambridge pub where Brentford Football Club was founded in 1889.
Cross the bridge and there are two pubs on Kew Green – the Cricketers and the Greyhound.
North of the river along well-to-do Strand on the Green, you will find The Steam Packet, in an old Cafe Rouge, The Bell, City Barge and the Bulls Head – two pubs side-by-side in which you would often see Ant and Dec hanging out.
There is also The Pilot – close to Gunnersbury station.
Other pubs slightly further afield for the more creative amongst you include (and this is by no means a definitive list) …. The Globe (Windmill Rd) & The Lord Nelson (Enfield Rd) are both incredibly friendly and cosy away-friendly pubs and about one minute walk from each other …. frequented by “away fans in the know”. And there are plenty of other pubs in and around Brentford High Street.
The Plough (Northfields Ave) in Northfields is a decent stop-off if you are coming by tube to Northfields.
The ‘Northfields run’ makes a much better pub crawl route than South Ealing – getting off the tube at Northfields station, turning left and stopping off at The Plough (2 min walk), The Lord Nelson (10 min walk from The Plough) & The Globe (1 min walk from The Nelson) en-route before ending up at The Griffin (8 min walk from The Globe). There’s also a relatively new tiny microbrewery pub in Northfields called The Owl and The Pussycat (Northfields Ave) – right turn out of the station away from the ground as opposed to left.
If you decide to get off at South Ealing station, we’ve heard a few people pop into Roddy’s Bar. If you like your craft beer, another fairly new pub worth checking out is The Black Dog Beer House, formerly The Albany, on Albany Road, which is fairly busy before and after the match. There is a pub right by Brentford mainline station referred to as … the Pub by Brentford station.
For real ale head to the Magpie and Crown pub on Brentford High Street. The Royal Horseguardsman (Ealing Road) can probably hold 15 of you at a push. The Brewery Tap (Catherine Wheel Road) is a cosy boozer by the river.
Getting to Brentford from town – get the tube to Waterloo (Northern, Jubilee lines) or Vauxhall (Victoria Line) and then take the Overground train to Kew Bridge, which is right by the stadium.
You can also get the tube to South Ealing or Northfields stations from King’s Cross or Euston (even less from Paddington) on the Piccadilly Line. The stadium is around 25 minutes’ walk from South Ealing or you can get on the 65 bus across the road which will drop you almost outside. You can also pick up the 65 from Ealing Broadway.
You can also walk to the stadium from Gunnersbury station, but note that it is closed for entry for one hour after the match.
You can check out Transport for London’s guide to travel on the Tube and Overground.
