Barely 15 miles separate the spiritual homes of Arsenal and Brentford but they occupy opposite realms of the traditional English footballing landscape.
While the Gunners have been a fixture of the top flight since the First World War, gaining a reputation as the ‘Bank of England club’ such was their financial muscle in the 1930s, Brentford went 74 years without gracing the highest tier of the pyramid.
Even after a successful, statistically driven adaptation to the Premier League in recent years, Brentford’s head coach Thomas Frank insists on calling his team “a bus stop in Hounslow”, aiming a dig at their more traditional rivals in Fulham and Queens Park Rangers.
Despite Arsenal and Brentford’s differences, the fortunes of both capital clubs have been interwoven over the years. Here’s everything you need to know about a rivalry which has straddled the best part of a century.
A little over two years before Arsenal travelled as reigning champions of England to Brentford’s Griffin Park in November 1935, the Bees had played host to the likes of Aldershot and Torquay United in the depths of the Third Division South.
Harry Curtis’ largely unchanged side understandably struggled against the country’s elite, suffering 11 defeats in 19 games before Christmas. However, one bright patch amid the gloomy start to the club’s first-ever top-flight campaign was a 2-1 victory over champions Arsenal.
A winter upheaval sparked a miraculous conclusion to the campaign for Brentford as they finished fifth, one place higher than the Gunners.
In October 1937, Brentford sat at the summit of the top flight, fired into first place by David McCulloch – the forward whose mid-season arrival had saved the club during their maiden Division One campaign.
By the time Arsenal rocked up at Griffin Park in April, Brentford’s title tilt had faded but they had recovered from a New Year slump to thump the Gunners 3-0. Ted Drake was knocked unconscious after a collision with goalkeeper Joe Crozier but was forced back onto the pitch with five stitches and plenty more bandages.
Long before the modern day’s inadequate concussion protocols, Arsenal were effectively reduced to ten men as Drake aimlessly stumbled through a convincing loss to a soundtrack of vociferous boos from the unflinching home crowd. Meanwhile, Brentford’s talisman McCulloch opened the scoring. However, the defeat spurred Arsenal to three successive victories to close out the season and win the top-flight title.
Midnight had just passed but Ivan Toney was consigned to a sleepless night, riding the euphoria of Brentford’s triumphant return to the Premier League. In celebration of a dominant 2-0 victory, Toney tweeted: “Nice kick about with the boys.”
Mikel Arteta would use Toney’s words as motivation for his own squad later in the season but it was a justified barb; Brentford tormented Arsenal on that Friday like a merciless school bully.
“I don’t think we deserved anything different,” Arteta was forced to concede. The night ended with a stadium-wide rendition of Hey Jude, the Beatles anthem adopted by the west London support which Frank was quick to praise.
“That was more than a 10/10 performance in terms of atmosphere,” the Brentford boss gushed. “Constant singing. Amazing.”
The distinct whiff of revenge was in the air for Arsenal’s subsequent trip to the Gtech Community Stadium.
In front of a subdued home crowd on the weekend of Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral, Arsenal surgically dismantled their hosts while limiting Brentford to precious little.
As a final damning indictment of Arsenal’s superiority, Arteta brought on 15-year-old Ethan Nwaneri in the closing stages, breaking the record for the Premier League’s youngest player. The away support gleefully chanted: “He’s got school in the morning.”
Arteta has been an ardent critic of Premier League officials, inspiring jeers and jibes from opposition fans and managers for needlessly fierce rebuttals. However, there are genuine moments of controversy behind his antipathy.
Arsenal stumbled into their decisive and destructive meeting with title rivals Manchester City during the 2022/23 campaign on the back of a factually unjust 1-1 draw against Brentford. In the haste of rushing to a decision, the VAR operators had simply forgotten to check if Brentford’s Christian Norgaard was onside when he levelled at the Emirates Stadium. He wasn’t.
Lee Mason, the video assistant referee for that match, would never oversee another Premier League game, leaving the PGMOL after that glaring error.
Arsenal vs Brentford – Complete H2H record
Arsenal vs Brentford – Premier League H2H record
Top scorers in Arsenal vs Brentford Premier League fixtures
|
Player |
Team represented |
Goals |
|---|---|---|
|
Christian Norgaard |
Brentford |
2 |
|
Gabriel Jesus |
Arsenal |
1 |
|
Leandro Trossard |
Arsenal |
1 |
|
Fabio Vieira |
Arsenal |
1 |
|
William Saliba |
Arsenal |
1 |
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