Arsenal return to Premier League action on Sunday afternoon as they travel to the Brentford Community Stadium to face the Bees away for the first time since August 2021.
The Gunners were the Bees' first-ever Premier League opponents last season when the pair opened the Premier League campaign in west London. Mikel Arteta's side arrived with three new signings in Ben White, Albert Sambi Lokonga and Nuno Tavares after an eighth-placed finish the season before.
Thomas Franks' side celebrated their return to the top tier after a 74-year absence with an impressive performance against Arteta's men. Sergi Canos opened the scoring after 22 minutes with a low drive past Bernd Leno before Christian Norgaard headed in with 20 minutes to go.
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The defeat was the first of three straight defeats for Arsenal, but it has been an upwards trajectory since then, with a fifth-placed finish last season and an impressive start to the current campaign.
Arteta's team is now accompanied with a host of new faces, with the arrivals of Martin Odegaard, Aaron Ramsdale, Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko.
With Sunday's fixture the first time the club will have visited the Bees since that dreadful evening last year, football.london have reviewed how Arteta's side has changed in the past year.
Bernd Leno
After having nine goals put past him in the opening three games of last season, German goalkeeper Leno dropped to the bench following Ramsdale's arrival and stayed there. He stepped in for the 1-0 win over Aston Villa in March and made a string of saves to ensure the three points.
Ramsdale's continuous improvement at the Emirates Stadium forced Leno to seek first team football elsewhere and a deal was struck at the start of August. Fulham paid £8m to sign the goalkeeper and after settling for the bench in the draws against Liverpool and Wolves, he has started the previous four contests - including the 2-1 defeat to the Gunners.
Callum Chambers
Despite having Cedric Soares and Ainsley Maitland-Niles available for selection, Arteta selected Chambers to play at right-back to contest against Rico Henry. The Englishman lasted 81 minutes before being replaced by Tavares and it was one of his final appearances for the club.
Chambers was dropped for the defeat to Chelsea before being restored for the thrashing at Manchester City. However, he did not feature in the league again until sealing a three-and-a-half year deal at Aston Villa. The 27-year-old has appeared 14 times for Steven Gerrard's side, but has been a regular figure on the Villa bench this season.
Ben White
Following his £50m move from Brighton, White endured the worst possible start to his career in north London. He missed the following two games before going on to miss only four more games for Arteta's side last season.
He's come on leaps and bounds in the short period of time at Arsenal and has proved his versatility by playing at right-back in the early stages of this season. Matured well in defence, White is now one of Arteta's leaders on the field and is one of the first names on the team sheets.
Pablo Mari
The Brazilian defender struggled against Brentford and Chelsea, resulting in him not featuring in the Premier League again for the Gunners. He joined Serie A side Udinese in January for first team football, steering Gabriele Cioffi's side well away from relegation.
He returned to Italy this summer on another loan deal, with newly-promoted Monza. Mari has featured in three of their opening six games, only missing the defeats to Napoli, Udinese and AS Roma due to abdominal injuries.
Kieran Tierney
The Scotsman was one of the most consistent performers last season for Arsenal, with his absence at the end of the season playing a key part in the club missing out on Champions League football.
A knee injury saw him miss the final nine games of the season, but a whole summer of rehab, alongside the arrival of Zinchenko, has lifted the pressure off him to lead from the back. Starting two of the opening six games of the season, the 25-year-old remains a pivotal figure in Arteta's side.
Albert Sambi Lokonga
After arriving from Anderlecht in the summer, the young midfielder spent most of the season off the bench in an attempt to ease him into the conditions the Premier League provides. However, starting him at Brentford a year ago seemed the best option.
However, it proved not to be the case. Thomas Partey's return from injury and Odegaard's late arrival in the window eased the need to place him in at the deep end. Lokonga started 12 of the 37 Premier League games he appeared in after suffering from Coronavirus. Arsenal's failure to sign another midfielder in the transfer market means the Belgian remains a valuable option for Sunday.
Grant Xhaka
One of the key members of Arteta's side last season, Xhaka's recovery from his troubles at the club has been quite impressive.
The Swiss international has formed a strong relationship with the rest of the players, on and off the pitch, and has made himself one of Arsenal's most important players. Possibility he'll be one of few players that we'll see start on Sunday who also featured last season.
Nicolas Pepe
The curious case of Pepe's time in London has been one that many have struggled to put their finger on. His move from Lille struggled to reach the heights many would have hoped for.
Pepe endured a difficult 2021/22 season, scoring only one goal and providing a further two assists. The Ivory Coast international secured a loan move to OGC Nice in the transfer window due to Gabriel Martinelli's rapid emergence into the first team. He's scored once in his opening four games back in France.
Emile Smith-Rowe
Academy graduate Smith-Rowe's first full season in the first team was one to remember. The 22-year-old scored 10 goals and registered a further two assists last term, starting 21 of the 35 games he featured in. Arguably one of Arsenal's most creative players, Smith-Rowe has improved massively.
Following the signing of Odegaard, Smith-Rowe competed with Bakary Sako and Martinelli in the wide positions and continued his progression through the England under-21s squad. He's yet to start a Premier League game this season, however, and pulled up in the warm down against Manchester United.
Gabriel Martinelli
Martinelli's stock has risen rapidly over the last year. With a 12-goal contribution last campaign, the Brazilian has made his position his own at the Emirates Stadium over the last few months - ending the season with three assists in the final five games.
He also started the current season in red-hot form, scoring three goals in the opening six games from left wing. Martinelli is currently one of Arsenal's most dangerous players and has a huge task of showing Tito why he should be in the Brazil national team.
Folarin Balogun
New York-born striker Balogun started in place of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette, due to the pair missing out due to illness. He struggled against the solid back three of Kristoffer Ajer, Pontus Jansson and Ethan Pinnock.
He made an 11-minute cameo against Chelsea the following weekend before spending the second half of the season on loan at Middlesbrough under Chris Wilder, netting three times. His development is now taking place in Ligue 1 with Stade Reims and he's been in sizzling form. He's scored five goals and assisted a further two - the joint-third top scorer in Ligue 1.
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