Brentford and Arsenal meet in the third round of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday after the Bees secured a penalty-shootout victory in the second round against League Two outfit Newport County.
Arsenal, on the other hand, bypassed the second round due to their European commitments and will open up their League Cup account at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Ahead of the clash, Football FanCast has decided to take a deeper dive into the fixture's history.
Brentford vs Arsenal: What's their head-to-head record?
It's – perhaps – surprisingly Brentford who come out on top in the overall head-to-head battle. The West Londoners have recorded six victories over Wednesday's opposition throughout their 134-year history.
It's important to note that whilst these two sides regularly face each other nowadays, prior to the Bees' 2021 promotion, the pair had only met 11 times.
And that was largely due to the fact the Gunners were always in a higher division, though Brentford did compete in the top flight for four years in the 1930s and had a brief spell back in 1946/47.
Brentford wins
6
Draws
4
Arsenal Wins
5
Brentford vs Arsenal: What's their record at Gtech Community Stadium/Griffin Park?
Brentford appear to have Arsenal's number when the pair face each other at the Community Stadium, or previously at Griffin Park.
Thomas Frank will be hoping to add to that tally on Wednesday evening as his side looks to progress through to the fourth round of the Carabao Cup.
Brentford have never won a major trophy but this cup competition could be the most viable route to ending their trophy drought.
So one would expect Frank to field a strong XI, capable of beating the Gunners.
Brentford wins
5
Draws
0
Arsenal wins
2
Brentford vs Arsenal: What's their record at the Emirates/Highbury?
Arsenal come out on top in this head-to-head battle, as you'd expect. The Emirates, and formerly Highbury, can be imposing to play at and gaining any positive result is certainly challenging for away sides.
Though, in fairness, Brentford have more than held their own on their travels to North London. They've picked up four draws and a win, meaning they've avoided defeat on five occasions from their eight meetings.
There should certainly be a degree of optimism when they travel to the Emirates next spring, in the league.
Brentford wins
1
Draws
4
Arsenal wins
3
Brentford vs Arsenal: What's their League record?
The Bees have had the greater fortune in meetings against the Gunners in the league. They've only conceded defeat four times in 14 fixtures against them. Brentford could well be classed as Arsenal's bogey team.
Perhaps their most famous win against the North Londoners came just over two years ago, on a Friday night, in their first-ever Premier League game.
Sergi Canos opened the scoring in the 22nd minute before Christian Nørgaard added a second to seal a memorable win for the hosts.
That prompted the famous Ivan Toney tweet that certainly ruffled a few Arsenal feathers…
Defeat for the away side increased the pressure on Mikel Arteta, who had guided his side to an underwhelming eighth-placed finish the previous campaign.
Brentford wins
6
Draws
4
Arsenal wins
4
Brentford vs Arsenal: What's their cup record?
These two teams have only met in the cup once, and that came back in September 2018. The Gunners recorded a 3-1 home victory that evening against their Championship opposition while under the control of Unai Emery.
Danny Welbeck was at the double before Alexandre Lacazette added a third in stoppage time to send the Spaniard's side through to the fourth round of the Carabao Cup, before being knocked out by Spurs in the quarter-finals.
Arsenal's overall cup record is far superior to Brentford's, as it is to most sides in England. Alongside their 13 league titles, they've won a record 14 FA Cups and two League Cups, as well as two European trophies. Meanwhile, the Bees are yet to win their first piece of major silverware.
Brentford wins
0
Draws
0
Arsenal wins
1
Brentford vs Arsenal: Which team has scored the most goals?
Given Brentford have the better overall head-to-head record against Arsenal, it should come as no surprise that they top the goal-scoring charts across their 15 fixtures.
Though, there's certainly not much in it…
Their 15 meetings have produced a total of 36 goals, which averages out to 2.4 goals per game.
Brentford goals
19
Arsenal goals
17
Brentford vs Arsenal: What were the recent results?
11 February 2023 – Arsenal 1-1 Brentford: The Bees held their title-chasing opposition to a 1-1 draw at the Emirates.
January arrival Leandro Trossard opened the scoring in the 66th minute before Ivan Toney scored a controversial equaliser 16 minutes from time to wobble Arsenal's title hopes.
Toney's goal, however, shouldn't have stood as VAR failed to draw the offside lines against Christian Nørgaard, who was in an offside position when he hooked the ball back for the striker to head home.
18th September 2022 – Brentford 0-3 Arsenal: The reverse fixture saw Arsenal cruise past Brentford. The Gunners made it six wins from seven as they secured a 3-0 victory away at the Gtech Community Stadium.
William Saliba, Gabriel Jesus and Fábio Vieira all got themselves on the scoresheet and Ethan Nwaneri became the youngest-ever Premier League player aged 15 years and 181 days.
19th February 2022 – Arsenal 2-1 Brentford: The Gunners sealed a crucial home win over the west Londoners in their pursuit to finish inside the top four.
Second-half strikes from Emile Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka were enough to see off their bottom-half opposition, who sat six points above the relegation zone.
Victory for the Gunners moved them within a point of fourth-placed Manchester United with two games in hand.
13th August 2021 – Brentford 2-0 Arsenal: Brentford's aforementioned Premier League debut saw them beat the north London club 2-0 on a memorable August evening.
Their long-awaited 74-year absence from the top flight could hardly have gone better, as they cruised to a comfortable victory against one of the best sides in the division.
Sergi Canos broke the deadlock in the first half before an unlikely goal source in Christian Nørgaard added the all-important second in the 73rd minute.
26th September 2018 – Arsenal 3-1 Brentford: The Gunners swept past their Championship opposition as Danny Welbeck netted a first-half brace to put the hosts 2-0 up.
Alan Judge fired home a beautifully-struck 20-yard free-kick in the second half before Alexandre Lacazette scored his side's third in stoppage time to seal their place in the fourth round of the League Cup.
Brentford vs Arsenal: What is Brentford's biggest win?
17th April 1938 – Brentford 3-0 Arsenal: Brentford's biggest victory over Arsenal came back in the 1937/38 season when the pair were both playing in the top flight.
Arsenal won their fifth league title that year whilst the Bees finished in sixth place. A marvellous campaign for both sides.
Brentford vs Arsenal: What is Arsenal's biggest win?
18th September 2022 – Brentford 0-3 Arsenal: Arsenal's biggest win over Brentford came just over a year ago, as they surpassed the reigning champions Manchester City with three points to go top of the league.
That season, The Gunners were close to winning their first league title in 19 years but fell short to the eventual treble-winners Manchester City.
Meanwhile, Brentford finished ninth on 59 points, their highest-ever Premier League finish and points tally.
Brentford vs Arsenal: When is it?
Brentford host Arsenal at the Gtech Community Stadium on Wednesday 27th September at 7:45 pm UK time. Mikel Arteta's side will likely head into this one as the favourites but that could change depending on what team he fields.
Both sides will certainly want to win the cup tie but perhaps the importance lies greater with the home side, who don't have to worry about European exploits and the congested fixture list that can bring. And the Carabao Cup is probably their most likely avenue to winning a major trophy.
Arteta, on the other hand, will have to consider using his squad and possibly giving fringe players an opportunity as he tries to manage the busy schedule.
Brentford is his side's third fixture in a week after their clashes against PSV in the Champions League and rivals Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League.
Arsenal have lost pace on their title rivals Manchester City, having dropped points in two of their six fixtures this season. Though, they still remain in fifth, four points adrift of the Citizens.
Arteta's men certainly haven't hit the heights of last season, just yet, so now could be a perfect time to play the Gunners for Brentford. But they themselves haven't got off to the best start in the league, having won one game from their opening six.
They are currently languishing in the bottom half of the table following a shock 3-1 defeat to relegation-threatened Everton on the weekend.
So a much-improved performance for both sides will certainly lend itself well to improving their respective league forms.
