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Arsenal: Mikel Arteta has praised Declan Rice for his initiative after the midfielder ignored the instructions of Arsenal’s set-piece coach before scoring the first of his two free-kicks against Real Madrid. Ed Aarons reports …
Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya gets his sidewinder on during the warm-up. Photograph: David Price/Arsenal FC/Getty Images
- Manchester City 5-2 Crystal Palace
- Brighton 2-2 Leicester City
- Nottingham Forest 0-1 Everton
- Southampton 0-3 Aston Villa
- View the Premier League table
Pictured celebrating the second free-kick he scored against Real Madrid, Declan Rice is the cover star of today’s match programme. Photograph: Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC/Getty Images
A peek inside the Arsenal dressing-room prior to this evening’s match against Brentford. Photograph: Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC/Getty Images
- Referee: Simon Hooper.
- Assistants: Adrian Holmes and Simon Long.
- Fourth official: Will Finnie.
- VAR: James Bell.
- Assistant VAR: Nick Greenhalgh.
Simon Hooper leads today’s team of match officials at the Emirates Stadium. Photograph: Catherine Ivill/AMA/Getty Images
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.
Brazilian winger Gustavo Nunes has yet to make his debut for Brentford after signing from Gremio for £10m plus add-ons. Photograph: Carla Carniel/Reuters
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
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.
Kai Havertz is likely to return before the end of the season as he steps up his recovery from the hamstring injury he suffered during Arsenal’s winter warm weather training camp in Dubai. Photograph: Jon Super/AP
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.
