Arsenal add to injury woes despite comfortable victory

Arsenal came into this fixture off the back of a very challenging week, which resulted in an anti-climatic draw against Chelsea. Big victories against Tottenham Hotspur and Bayern Munich certainly boosted the morale around the club, but Chelsea were just a bridge too far. Though a 1-1 draw is respectable on the face of it, the context is that Arsenal couldn’t punish the West London side despite them going a man down in the 38th minute. Mikel Arteta will always encourage his players and staff to brush themselves down and go again. The Brentford fixture presented an awkward challenge due to previous results against them. The Gunners drew 1-1 in this tie last season, so Arteta’s men needed to be focused from the beginning.

It was a measured start from Arsenal. Brentford enjoyed as much possession as the home side, without much in the way of penetration. However, Arsenal drew first blood in the 11th minute. Noni Madueke held the ball up long enough for Ben White to make an overlapping run, his cross was met by the head of Mikel Merino who powered it beyond the keeper. An early goal was just what the doctor ordered. Arsenal then had a flurry of half chances and nearly moments as they were slicing through Brentford. Madueke’s quick feet generated enough space for a shot, but Caoimhin Kelleher was well positioned enough to deny his effort. That was the pick of the bunch, but Brentford wanted a piece of the action. A corner was swung in and Kevin Schade sent a ferocious header towards goal, but David Raya’s quick reactions denied a certain goal. It was heart in mouth for Arsenal fans, but thankfully that was all they could muster for the rest of the half. The North London side resumed their careful attacking methods, but couldn’t create anything of note.

The 2nd half was a slow burner. Both teams threatened to do something, yet neither keeper had anything to do. That was until the 66th minute when Riccardo Calafiori danced his way to the edge of the Brentford box and unleashed a strike that had to be parried by Kelleher. Declan Rice then came close, but it was the rebound from Merino that should’ve resulted in a goal. The Spaniard couldn’t sort his feet on this occasion. The game ebbed away and Arsenal were heading towards a lean 1-0 victory. Calafiori attempted to change that outcome again, but was denied from close range. Bukayo Saka then fluffed the rebound, similar to Merino’s chance. With just injury time left on the clock, the Emirates felt nervy. Brentford had their big hitters on the pitch and are prone to scoring late goals. But, Saka stuck a pin in that nervous atmosphere and made it 2-0. Merino picked up the ball from deep and patiently waited for Saka to make the right run inside the defender. With the run made, Merino sent the ball through. Our English star was left one-on-one with the keeper, but opted to cut back and allow the chasing Brentford defenders to pass him. A risky move, but they fell for it and Saka had the space to shoot. Kelleher initially saved the effort, but due to the sheer power behind the shot, the ball looped over his head and bounced in. Arsenal were then able to see out the game without any complication.

Player Ratings

Raya – 9 – This rating is based on THAT save. It proves why he’s one of the best in the world. The lightning quick reactions, to get enough of a hand to push it onto the bar and away from the goal, was other worldly. His distribution was also pretty much perfect. He didn’t take a risk in a pass he didn’t 100% trust would make its target. For the save alone, we thank you.

White – 9 (MOTM) – It was between a few players that I could’ve given the Man of the Match to, but White just edges this one. Thrown back into the starting line up, which was only his third of the season and first since Port Vale. He handled everything like the seasoned professional we know he is. He provided attacking intent which prevailed almost instantly as he grabbed the assist for Merino’s goal. In addition to this, he was solid defensively. For someone that doesn’t play often, he deputised for Timber extremely well.

Mosquera – 6 – I can’t give him too much of a rating because was substituted in the first half with an injury. He was decent before getting subbed off, but not enough data to really enhance his rating.

Hincapie – 8 – I really like what he’s about. He thrives off his defensive actions, but has the quality on the ball to help his side build from the back. Though he doesn’t have height on his side, he still uses his body extremely well and will challenge for any header. Even when Igor Thiago entered the frame, our Ecuadorian kept him quiet, alongside Jurrien Timber.

Calafiori – 9 – He was one of the other players that I could’ve put as MOTM. He was exceptional down that left hand side. He completely locked up that flank, but proved to be one of our most dangerous players going forward. Two attempts on goal and almost got an assist. A marvellous performance.

Zubimendi – 8 – He’s everywhere you want him to be. Receiving a pass, cutting a passing lane or making a tackle. He does it all. Once again he kept our midfield ticking over and that’s all we needed from him.

Rice – 8 – A solid performance that was marred by his injury late on. A constant running machine in midfield and worked hard to create opportunities for his side. We sometimes don’t appreciate the effort he puts in across an entire game.

Odegaard – 7 – Our captain’s first start since his injury and you could tell it was his first start. We’ve become accustomed to Eberechi Eze adopting a position a bit higher up the pitch and more between the lines, but Odegaard prefers to pick up from deep. Both players have their merits, but you can tell that Eze is braver in possession. Odegaard created some nice moments, but seemed to lack that attacking courage to open up Brentford.

Madueke – 7 – I quite enjoyed watching Madueke play. He offers a different set of abilities to Saka and that can be exciting to witness. He’s clearly someone who uses his pace and quick feet to gain an advantage. There was a few moments in which he left his opponent eating grass, but other times it felt like he was little slow to react or adjust his feet. Certainly some positives to take from that performance.

Merino – 9 – I think he’s playing the best football we’ve seen since he joined the club last summer. Viktor Gyokeres is back, as is Gabriel Jesus, but Merino just feels undroppable right now. A goal and an assist in this tie brings his total to 30 G/A this calendar year, for club and country. It’s an astounding achievement for a player that was brought in for midfield cover. He never gives up, he never stops running and is providing more quality on the ball.

Martinelli – 6 – I think this was a frustrating performance from our Brazilian. It feels as though he’s more of a danger when he’s introduced to a game, rather than starting in one. This was another example of that. He only beat his man on one or two occasions, but didn’t generate a chance from it. A quiet game.

Substitutes

Timber – 8 – He was brought on in the place of Mosquera and Brentford struggled even further to create a chance. Despite his small stature, he’s incredibly strong and very quick. When you have Timber and Hincapie partnered together in defence, it’s very hard to beat them with pace. You can’t even really beat them with strength. A solid display from a player that was supposed to get some rest.

Eze – 7 – Not at his magical best, but he linked up well with his colleagues. It was no surprise that our attacking output shot up when he was introduced, even if he didn’t directly contribute to those attacks.

Saka – 7 – Much the same as Eze, our productivity enhanced when he entered the fray. He just about grabbed himself a goal, but a goal nonetheless.

Gyokeres – N/A –

Arsenal had a quiet game from a statistical perspective, but still generated a number of chances. The Gunners had 15 shots with 7 on target. This generated an xG of 1.77, within that we created 4 big chances. Brentford, on the other hand, had 6 shots with just 1 on target. This generated an xG of 0.35, only 1 big chance was created.

Arsenal got the much needed win and have kept the wolves from the door for another game week. Considering some of the results that have been flying around, I’ll take an uneventful win. The result leaves us five points clear of Manchester City in 2nd, six points clear of Aston Villa in 3rd, nine points clear of Chelsea in 4th and 11 points clear of Liverpool in 9th. All is going well, but a much bigger test awaits us this weekend as we travel to Aston Villa. A notoriously sticky ground for any team to visit, especially as Manchester City have already been defeated at Villa Park. We’ll need to be on our game from the get-go. Here’s how I’d lineup with all the injury news we have available at the moment.

The hope is that William Saliba returns and we can push Timber out to right back again. Having said that, White looked very good against Brentford and Timber is a more than capable centre back. Rice has announced that he’s fine and will be available for selection. Considering our games after Villa, we need one more big performance from him and then he can rest. Further up the pitch I can see Odegaard retaining his spot in the starting line up, but I think Arteta might opt for the pace and defensive work rate of Martinelli. Eze would be ideal to bring on if Villa do settle, but our Brazilian can cause chaos when he’s at his best. Merino has had four big shifts and covered a lot of miles, so I think it’s time we bed Gyokeres back into the team. A win is imperative, anything but a loss though.