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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Freddie Keighley

Mikel Arteta forced to make dramatic changes to Arsenal training due to Storm Eunice

Arsenal's preparations for their Premier League clash with Brentford were thrown off course as Storm Eunice rendered it impossible to train outside.

Like much of the United Kingdom, the Gunners' London Colney base was battered by strong winds of up to 80 miles per hour on Friday.

The conditions were so extreme in the capital that huge swathes were ripped off the iconic O2 Arena roof.

There was tragic news across the Irish Sea as Storm Eunice claimed its first victim in County Wexford, where a man was killed by a falling tree while clearing debris.

The Met Office's red and amber weather warnings are due to end at 9pm on Friday and the forecast should improve ahead of the weekend.

What is your scoreline prediction for Arsenal versus Brentford? Have your say in the comments!

Mikel Arteta was forced to take Friday's training session inside (Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

A number of sporting fixtures have already been called off but Arsenal's home encounter with Brentford at the Emirates is expected to go ahead at 3pm on Saturday.

Manager Mikel Arteta was forced to make alternative arrangements while training ahead of the match by diverting the squad inside and away from the brutal elements.

"We had to change the session," the Spaniard told reporters on Friday. "It was too windy to do what we wanted to do so we had to adapt and do one part inside and one part outside."

While the south of England has been badly hit by Storm Eunice, the vast majority of the strongest gusts have buffeted the West Country.

As such, Exeter City took the precautionary measure of postponing their League Two clash with Barrow, which was originally scheduled for Saturday. The Grecians voiced "concerns over the integrity" of their stadium, St James Park.

Elsewhere, Dunfermline's Scottish Championship fixture against Partick Thistle and Cardiff's United Rugby Championship match against Zebre were called off. Race meetings at Fakenham, Lingfield and Southwell also fell foul of Storm Eunice.

Potentially record-breaking winds of over 120 miles per hour were recorded in the most exposed areas towards the Cornish coast.

Mikel Arteta declared Arsenal "have to win" against Brentford on Saturday (Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

Arteta will hope for much more favourable conditions in North London as Brentford make the short trip to the Emirates.

The former midfielder is hoping to lead Arsenal to a top-four finish this season and said: "We have to win tomorrow and then we'll be closer to that objective.

"There's still a long way to go, lots of things are going to change and we have to be ready to play within the context that this is going to happen."

As Arsenal have multiple games in hand on Manchester United and West Ham, who are fourth and fifth in the table respectively, they remain in control of their own destiny.

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