Brentford out to extend 17-year New Year's Day unbeaten run in Arsenal clash

Brentford will look to extend a 17-year New Year's Day unbeaten run when they welcome Arsenal to the Gtech Community Stadium on Wednesday.

The Bees have gone four matches without a win since they claimed a 4-2 victory over Newcastle United on December 7.

Brentford suffered league defeats against Chelsea and Nottingham Forest, either side of a 3-1 loss to Newcastle in the EFL Cup quarter-finals.

They managed to end their run of defeats in their final outing of 2024, holding Brighton & Hove Albion to a goalless draw in Friday's meeting at the Amex Stadium.

Having taken 24 points from 18 matches, Thomas Frank's side will start the new year in 12th place in the Premier League table.

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Brentford looking to extend 17-year unbeaten run against Arsenal

Brentford will now be focused on Wednesday's difficult test against Arsenal - a team that they have failed to beat in their last six meetings (D1, L5).

However, the Bees can take confidence from their impressive record on New Year's Day, having avoided defeat in their last six matches on January 1 (W4, D2).

Their most recent New Year's Day game took place in 2020 when they ran out 4-0 winners in a Championship away game against Bristol City.

As a result of that impressive record, Brentford have not lost on New Year's Day since they suffered a 2-0 defeat against Swansea City at the start of 2007.

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Brentford's impressive home record

Brentford will also draw inspiration from their impressive home form this season, having won seven, drawn one and lost one of their nine league games at the Gtech Community Stadium.

The Bees may have lost to Forest in their most recent home outing, but they still share the best home record with Premier League leaders Liverpool.

Frank's side will look to make full use of home advantage again, as they go in search of their first win over Arsenal since recording a 2-0 victory in August 2021.

The Brentford boss is hopeful that goalkeeper Mark Flekken will be available for selection, while Sepp van den Berg and Mathias Jensen will return to the fold following their respective injury issues.

However, the Bees are unable to call upon Ben Mee, Josh Dasilva, Igor Thiago, Gustavo Nunes, Rico Henry and Aaron Hickey.