Arteta fumes as Arsenal hit the buffers
Four points dropped in two games ... now City could be top by midweek
Arsenal 1
Trossard Brentford 66 1
Toney 74
IT IS a measure of just how quickly tides can turn and how fragility lingers beneath any lead: by the time the final whistle goes here, on Wednesday night, Arsenal could sit second in the Premier League. Manchester City are the visitors then — time to clear the calendar, folks. Should Pep Guardiola’s side beat Aston Villa today, will they pass up another opportunity to haul Arsenal in?
Whatever happens, City will do well to cause Arsenal as many problems as Brentford did here.
This will feel like two points dropped, of course. Because Mikel Arteta’s side overcame an ordinary performance to lead briefly through Leandro Trossard’s first goal since arriving from Brighton. And because Arsenal felt Ivan Toney’s equaliser, with 16 minutes left, should have been ruled out for offside. Twice.
The officials — and Brentford manager Thomas Frank — disagreed but no one can dispute that parity was the least the visitors deserved. Toney had been a menace all afternoon and so had Brentford. They soaked up wave after wave of Arsenal possession and created a half-dozen glorious opportunities.
Toney was guilty of missing a couple. Rico Henry erred, too, while at the other end, Arsenal found mostly crossed wires and brick walls until a familiar combination — Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka and Ben White – put the ball on a plate for Trossard at the back post.
The relief and the glee soon dissipated. They still sang about being top of the league, which is true. But Arsenal have now gone three games without a win in all competitions. With City up next, backsides are beginning to squeak and tempers are flaring; late on here both benches and sets of players clashed.
Arsenal’s lead remains six points, their recent record reads one defeat in 15 league matches. Hardly cause for panic. And yet performances are beginning to wane. Arsenal have dropped points in two of their past three home games. The last three league goals they have conceded have come from set-pieces. City’s superior goal difference counts for another point.
‘You need to be excellent in everything you do in the matches and you need certain decisions to go in your favour as well,’ said Arteta. ‘It was a really strong performance. We had moments.
They are a really tricky team to play against, so credit to them.’
Brentford are now 10 league games without defeat and knocking on the door of the European places. They have taken 12 points from the Big Six this season and Arsenal remain the only team to win at their place, that 3-0 win in September was among several signals that something special was building.
No one provided much counter-evidence to temper those swelling expectations until recent defeats by City and Everton. Several players have begun to look fallible and the natural fear is City will not pass up the kind of opportunities squandered by Brentford.
Henry skewed the ball wide from close range. Toney hit the bar. Bryan Mbeumo raced through only for referee Peter Bankes to blow for a foul. His apparent crime? Being near Gabriel when the Brazilian slipped over.
By the time Ben Mee had a free header blocked, murmurings of frustration had begun to ripple around the Emirates. Arsenal dominated the ball but Toney, locked in a brilliant tussle with William Saliba, was causing problems. Brentford’s three centre-backs were happy to force Arsenal wide.
And Arteta’s side seemed to lack conviction. No wonder the cameras panned to Gabriel Jesus, wrapped up against the cold. How they could have done with his ability to unpick stubborn back lines.
There were glimpses of fluency and Arsenal emerged after half-time with extra bite, too. Eddie Nketiah set the tone, his unselfish work created a chance for Odegaard, whose tireless pressing prompted Arteta to whip up the crowd. And yet the clearest chances continued to fall Brentford’s way, Toney stroking the ball wide from the edge of the box.
It was for days like this that Arsenal went hard at the January window. The fear that they lack sufficient reserves has stalked Arteta throughout this title charge, certainly when compared to their rivals and their stockpiles of talent. And how smart that business looked when Trossard, signed for £21million from Brighton, broke Brentford’s resistance. Within eight minutes, however, the mood had shifted once more. From a freekick to the back post, Toney volleyed the ball across goal. It was kept alive and eventually hooked back the striker’s way by Christian Norgaard. He could not miss this time.
VAR had a look: goal. No wonder Toney’s face broke into a wide smile when he was substituted shortly before the end. No wonder abuse rained down from the stands. This could prove the start of a pivotal few days for Arsenal. For Brentford, more cause to dream.
‘I said to the players before the game that we needed our best performance because Arsenal have been so good. We got very close to that,’ said Frank.
‘You can’t celebrate a point, no matter who you are facing. But we can celebrate a very good performance. It was more than well deserved.’ Hear, hear.
ARSENAL (4-3-3): Ramsdale 6; White 5, Saliba 5.5, Gabriel 5, Zinchenko 6; Odegaard 6, Partey 5, Xhaka 5.5 (Vieira 81min); Saka 6.5, Nketiah 6, Martinelli 5 (Trossard 62, 7). subs (not used): Tierney, Kiwior, Holding, Tomiyasu, Jorginho, Turner, Cozier-Duberry.
BRENTFORD (3-5-2): Raya 6.5; Ajer 6, Pinnock 7, Mee 6.5; Roerslev 6, Janelt (Dasilva 71) 7, Norgaard 6.5, Jensen 7, Henry 7.5; Mbeumo (Wissa 71) 7, Toney (Schade 90) 8.5. Booked: Schade, Norgaard. subs (not used): Hickey, Schade, Jorgensen, Lewis-Potter, Damsgaard, Baptiste, Cox.