Are we becoming easy to play against or was this a one-off?

Arsenal have recovered form in time for the run-in. Four wins on the bounce has put us in a respectable position again, six points separating us and Manchester City. Pep Guardiola’s men picked up three points against Fulham on Wednesday, cutting the gap to three points, the onus was on the Gunners to beat Brentford in order to open the lead to six points again. Brentford are proving to be a formidable opponent this season, but Arsenal have a good record away from home.

First Half

The game started quite slowly, Brentford threatened Arsenal with long raking balls up to Igor Thiago and Dango Ouattara. Gabriel succumbed to the early pressure by sticking an easy pass out for a corner. Nothing came of it, but the nerves stayed. Despite that, Gabriel had the first chance of the game. He saw a header blocked near to the goal line. Igor Thiago eventually won his duels against Gabriel and Cristhian Mosquera and sent a powerful header towards the goal. David Raya produced a fantastic stop to deny him, despite the fact he made the error in the first place that led to the chance. Arsenal didn’t have another chance for the rest of the half, Brentford barely had a sniff either. Keane Lewis-Potter sent an effort off target from a thrown in, and that was about it.

Second Half

The Gunners took it upon themselves to try and write the wrongs of the first half. They seemed energised and were taking the game to Brentford. Leandro Trossard had a shot blocked from close range which instilled the idea that Arsenal were going to give it a go. Although, in opening up the game, Brentford found more chances at our end. Thiago had a shot excellently blocked by Gabriel moments after Trossard’s effort. Trossard worked some space for himself again, but a defender put his body between the ball and the goal. Space was being found, but good chances were still at a premium. Martin Odegaard hoofed an effort over the bar, which summed up Arsenal’s problems. However, Mikel Arteta’s men found their breakthrough out of nowhere. A cross was sent in by Piero Hincapie and Noni Madueke rose the highest to guide a header beyond the Brentford keeper. 1-0 Arsenal. That goal gave Brentford a kick and they seized the momentum back. Igor Thiago had another attempt thwarted by the Arsenal defence, this time it was Raya who got down well to make the stop. Michael Kayode then had a fierce strike headed behind by Gabriel. In the end, the pressure from the Bee’s paid off and a long throw from Kayode was met by a Brentford head. The ball fell into Lewis-Potter’s path and he smashed it home. Arsenal tried to restore the lead, but couldn’t find an avenue to exploit. Thiago had another chance, but Mosquera provided an excellent piece of defending to deny him. The Brazilian striker then squandered another opportunity, hammering the ball over from close range. The game had become an end-to-end affair and it was Arsenal’s turn to try and seal the game. Jurrien Timber broke free and was racing towards goal, Gabriel Martinelli was up in support. Timber laid it off for Martinelli who took a touch inside and tried to bend the ball beyond the Brentford keeper, unfortunately it struck his arm and the chance went begging. Brentford did threaten to counter and stick the knife further in, but the Gunners did just enough to prevent losing the tie.

Statistics

As the summary suggests, Brentford had more chances and far better ones at that. The home side had 14 shots with 3 on target. This created an xG of 1.51 with 3 big chances created. Arsenal, on the other hand, had just 7 shots and only 2 of them were on target. We only created 0.6 xG with only 1 big chance created.

Player Ratings

Starting XI

Raya – 6 – Made a crucial save early on, but it was because of his mistake that the chance arrived. Nowhere to be seen for Brentford’s equaliser. He was used far too often in buildup, but if there’s nowhere else to go then he’s always available.

Timber – 5 – The man is running on fumes right now. So many moments you can see he just looks to blowing out and it’s affecting how we build up. That pass in the dying minutes summed up his situation.

Mosquera – 8 (MOTM) – I think he slotted in excellently in the absence of Saliba. It could be argued that he recovered from his mistake to make that exceptional last ditch tackle, but I think it was just excellent play from Igor Thiago to get a touch. He was strong and composed overall.

Gabriel – 6 – I can understand the criticism of him. For such a big personality, we didn’t get that commanding defensive contribution. That misplaced pass in the first few minutes set the tone. However, he made two crucial blocks and we can’t forget that.

Hincapie – 8 – He improved as the match went on and I liked the fact that he opted to go on the outside in the 2nd half. He seemed to ditch that introverted gimmick and allowed Trossard to drift inwards. It worked for the most part when everyone else was dialled in. He also grabbed the assist with an excellent cross, something that we used more in the 2nd half.

Zubimendi – 5 – I don’t really remember anything that he did. He made some passes and some tackles, but his inability to control a match is becoming more and more apparent.

Rice – 8 – He would’ve been my MOTM, but that decision to try and tee up Gyokeres is killing me. Fundamentally, he was one of the few players that played anywhere close to their standard. That last ditch interception, at the end of the match, probably saved the point

Eze – 3 – I can’t back him in this one, but Arteta’s demands out of possession is killing his creativity. He demands Eze press like Odegaard, but he’s not that kind of player. He’s someone you feed through the lines and get the ball to on the edge of the box. But, our buildup insists on moving the ball out wide. He offered nothing, but it’s not entirely his fault.

Madueke – 7 – He scored the goal and it was well taken. He offers something that no one else in this starting XI can, an ability to turn a defender inside-out. He did give Rico Henry a few difficult moments, but was often doubled up on to reduce his effectiveness.

Gyokeres – 6 – If we won 1-0 or 2-1 then he would rank higher. But, we didn’t win and we once again had a striker that didn’t have a single shot. However, his hold up play was superb and it deserved rewards. He did really well to send Timber through, but it wasn’t to be.

Trossard – 6 – He was much better in the 2nd half, funnily enough when Hincapie vacated the space inside. He had a couple of chances, but it wasn’t to be for him either.

Substitutes

Odegaard – 7 – His impact was instant when he came on in the 2nd half. He was receiving the ball on the left a lot more than usual and it helped create danger. However, he failed to prevent the goal, injured himself in the process and then vanished after that. If he can maintain the level of performance we saw between 45-60 then he’ll contribute a lot in the coming months. On the flip side, we’re seeing that 60-95 performance far too often from him.

Saka – 3 – I punished Eze for being invisible, Saka was as well. I can’t point to a moment that he did anything at all. He’s our franchise star and we’re not getting that from him. He’s our Haaland, Salah, Palmer and we’re not getting close to that right now.

Calafiori – N/A –

Martinelli – 5 – You never felt confident he was ever going to put that chance away, but if he’s having just our second shot on target, then he’s not the problem. I could see what he was trying to do, but inches away from pulling off.

Summary

The result in isolation isn’t bad at all. Brentford are very good and that’s credit to Keith Andrews. He’s found a system and it works extremely well, you can see why they’ve only lost twice at home. For us, it’s another bump in the road that is becoming more frequent. We can point to a four point gap at the top, but the performances have to change. City will start to squeeze that bit harder on our necks, but we have the squad to get us over the line. Stick with the team, they’ve done well by us so far. There’s an element of shackles needing to be released and I think we have to mix it up a little. We have a winning tactic, clearly, but I think there’s no real plan B outside of personnel changes. There’s some tinkering that can be done. With that being said, there’s an FA Cup game to play this Sunday. Wigan at home.

Arsenal Predicted Lineup

No disrespect to Wigan at all, but this is a game that we can throw a few youngsters at. There’s enough talent in that squad anyway to accommodate a few from the U21 side. Ife Ibrahim and Marli Salmon both featured for Arsenal U21’s tonight (Friday 13th), but only played for an hour max. Kepa Arrizabalaga is our cup keeper. Ben White needs minutes and Timber is desperate for a rest. I’d have Salmon in at CB or even Jaden Dixon. Mosquera gave us 90 against Brentford, but it’s likely we’ll play Saliba and Gabriel for Wolves and Tottenham. I would like to see Myles Lewis-Skelly in midfield, but we know Arteta won’t do that. He needs minutes outside of that, but I think Hincapie at left back with a Norgaard/Lewis-Skelly needs to be experimented with. Norgaard feels like a no-brainer and I’d like to see what Ibrahim can do when surrounded by experience. Saka needs to get his fitness up in time for Wolves and Spurs and this could be a nice little stat padding session for him. I think we need to start Eberechi Eze for the same reason. Martinelli only played about 15 minutes against Brentford, so he seems nailed on to start. Same with Gabriel Jesus, he didn’t feature at all against Brentford. This starting XI is strong enough to beat Wigan comfortably. I don’t want to see Rice, Zubimendi, Timber, Saliba or Gabriel anywhere near this game. Let’s get it!