Brenford 1-1 Arsenal: Gunners stalemate in west London as Mikel Arteta’s side are held to a draw and fail to respond to Manchester City’s 3-0 win over Fulham
(Image: Eddie Keogh/Getty Images)
Arsenal were held to a draw by Brentford and were unable to regain their six-point lead at the top of the Premier League. The Gunners are now four points clear of Manchester City after a hard-fought encounter in west London.
Igor Thiago had the best chance in a tense first half, but his header was denied by a diving David Raya. Arsenal had their only shot in the first 45 minutes, but improved after the break.
Noni Maduke rose high to take the lead when he slotted Piero Hincapie’s cross into the corner. Kean Lewis-Potter missed a great chance to make it 1-1 with a header from a deep corner kick, but Brentford’s long throw-in was their trump card and they quickly recovered.
Sepp van den Berg parried Michael Cayode’s throw and Lewis Potter beat Martin Odegaard to fire a diving header into the net. Things could have been even worse had Cristian Mosquera not made a perfectly timed last-ditch tackle late on to deny Thiago, and had the Brazilian not converted another chance in stoppage time.
In a dramatic end-to-end ending, Caoich Kelleher had to be sidelined to deny Gabriel Martinelli. Here are the talking points from the match that will keep you pulsating and have the potential to deliver results.
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1. Raya eliminates the old side
Brentford dominated in the first half and looked like they could take the lead, but their former goalkeeper denied them. In fact, Raya was guilty of attempting to roll out to Declan Rice in the first half, setting up Brentford’s best chance when the ball was passed to Matthias Jenson.
Jenson’s cross was perfect for Thiago and his header looked certain to hit the net. However, Raya read the trajectory of the ball and flung his body to the left to deflect the Brazilian striker’s header. “My first thought is, ‘Could we do better?’ But I have to give credit to Raya for making an unbelievable save,” Peter Crouch said on TNT Sports at halftime.
David Raya produced an instinctive save to deny Igor Thiago (Image: Rob Newell/Getty Images)
2. Ezeflops
Eberechi Eze has been given a big opportunity in West London. With the exception of a hat-trick against Tottenham in November, he has struggled to make an impact in the Premier League, often sitting on the bench as a substitute.
Entrusted with his first start in nine weeks since the 2-1 win over Wolves on December 13, he was most notably involved in bringing back Dango Ouattara to thwart a potential Brentford break and failed to convert any chances. Arteta wasted no time and brought on summer signing Martin Odegaard at half-time.
Eberechi Eze went crazy at half-time (Image: David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
3. Maduke finds a way
Maduke is not a consistent goalscorer. His first Premier League season came when the Premier League intervened to overturn an original decision to award Carl Darlow an own goal from an inswinging corner. And not many would have expected his second goal to come from a towering header.
But unlike Eze, Madueke took a chance. As Bukayo Saka readied himself on the Arsenal bench, the England winger produced a well-timed leap and curled a header past a helpless Kelleher and into the corner.
Noni Madueke nods after Arsenal’s opening goal (Image: Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
4. Set Piece FC
Arsenal are the undisputed best team in attacking set-pieces, but in Kayode there is no doubt that Brentford have the best long-throw taker in the Premier League. While some players struggle to reach the box with the right trajectory, the Bees’ right-back is a constant threat with his shot.
It was his throw that Van den Bergh finally nailed, dropping the ball perfectly to Lewis Potter on the edge of the six-yard box. Brentford head coach Keith Andrews is a former set-piece coach and his successor Stephen Rice continues that lineage, which also includes Nicola Jover, now at Arsenal.
Keane Lewis-Potter heads in from a long throw to equalize for Brentford (Image: AFP/Getty Images)
5. Title battle intensifies
This was always going to be a difficult task for Arsenal, who were in good form with Brentford in good form at home. It didn’t help that Manchester City’s midweek game came before Arsenal’s, but the easiest win against Fulham turned the screw on Arteta’s side.
They held their own against an aggressive and well-organized Brentford side, but it was still a failure in the circumstances.
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