Arsenal have suffered an untimely blow with Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang sidelined for the Premier League opener.

The duo have not travelled to West London for the curtain raiser against Brentford as they are down with illness, David Ornstein reports.

It will be interesting to see who will lead the line. Gabriel Martinelli or Folarin Balogun could be handed the opportunity to start up front.

The latter has yet to make his Premier League debut. In case they are both on the bench, Mikel Arteta could go with Nicolas Pepe as the striker.

The Gunners had a poor pre-season, and they won just one of their five matches. Their only win came against Watford behind closed doors.

Arteta will be hoping that his team can start the campaign on winning ways. It won't be an easy task against newly-promoted Brentford.

The Bees will be motivated for the derby, and the Gunners need to be wary of the attacking threat from last season's top goalscorer Ivan Toney.