We kick off match week 25 with a host of non-Arsenal fixtures, as the TV companies continue to feed from the money trough by spreading matches over three days, and I can’t work out whether us playing on Thursday is a good thing or not. The Scum, for example, play Newcastle tonight, but then they have no games at all until we play them in 13 days. That’s a lot of time for them to reset themselves, prepare for our arrival, get their drills in place and certainly provides them with an advantage.

Or does it? I’ve seen times at which we’ve had an extended period in between matches because we’ve been knocked out of the FA Cup earlish like they were to Villa, but then you lose a bit of the rhythm and cadence of regular football.

I think for us it’s probably better that we’re playing later in the week. I mean, the whole ‘City could be just three points off Arsenal by the time they kick off’ adds a little bit of a psychological edge to proceedings, but given the narrative and way in which Arteta has addressed the talk of the title race up until this point, I think those Arsenal players will also be set up with the right conditions to block out a lot of the noise. The media manifesting this as if it is neck-and-neck is one thing, but those players need to be looking at the cold, hard facts and see where they have come and where they are at.

As fans, we have the licence to fret – of which we do – but those players are professionals, and they need to just cut it all out. I have to admit that I thought they were being burdened by the weight of expectation and worry after that United game, but since then, the focus appears to have returned. Of course, that means nothing if you slip up at these stages, but I have hope that this Arsenal team will do what the manager says and go into these games with a view to ‘enjoying it’.

If that is the case, then I think a tough and physical game against Brentford should be something they relish, because we know that Brentford are going to give us a run for our money on Thursday. We talked a bit about them at the end of the Same Old Arsenal pod we recorded last night, and I reeled off a few stats to try to work out what’s ahead of us for Brentford. Interestingly, they are the most efficient in front of the goal of any team in the league when you compare the number of shots they have compared to the number of goals they’ve scored. They don’t take many chances, but when they do, they have been scoring them, and we know that they are a good set-piece side. They are a clever side; they know just as well as we that the percentages when you get the ball into certain positions with corners, free-kicks, and throw-ins (of which they have a guy who has a bullet throw, as we know), then your probability of unsettling defences increases massively.

They also make some of the fewest final-third passes in the league, in the bottom half, and only Wolves, Leeds and West Ham make fewer. So this side goes back to front quickly; they are very efficient when they do, and they are very good with set pieces. I don’t know about you, but a pattern in how this game is potentially unfolding is really starting to become clear to me. They also make some of the most average blocks per game – this is a side who will be compact defensively, then look to spring traps with pacey wide-forwards and an in-form striker in Igor Thiago.

So what Arsenal needs to do is control some of the controllables. Winning the first few big battles in our box will be key, but we need to acknowledge that when Brentford are in their defensive shape, we’ll have possession and territory and we’ll need to – at times – show levels of patience. And I need to remind myself as well that we’ve started scoring more goals, whilst also keeping shut-outs, so maybe the team will lean more into their own form, rather than looking at what City will be doing.

I’m saying all of this as if we’re playing tonight, maybe because of the staggered match week. The interest tonight would be more ‘funny’ than anything else, because it would be funny to see Chelsea, the Scum and Man United all lose. Then tomorrow, the hopes are pinned on Brighton doing something at Villa, but I hold nothing in terms of hopes for Fulham at City. I watched Sky Sports last night, and the stats are shocking. Fulham have lost all of their last 19 games to City in all competitions. That includes 16 in a row in the Premier League and Marcos Silva for all the clubs he’s been in charge of in England? Zero wins from the last 13. They aren’t even picking up a point tomorrow night, so let’s forget about that and focus on the fact that The Arsenal need to do what they need to do on Thursday.

I might take some time tomorrow to start looking at how the Brentford fans are feeling ahead of this one, as well as what some of the other pundits are saying about how this one will unfold. But until then, I shall bid you a fine Tuesday and catch you all tomorrow for some more ramblings. Speak then.