A Difficult Evening

Arsenal endured one of the most difficult matches of their season to date at the GTech Stadium on Thursday evening. A 1-1 draw was probably a fair result, with both sides possibly coming away disappointed at not having secured all three points. But - and make no mistake about this - Brentford are very difficult opposition. Especially at home.

They're actually a remarkable club. They have risen from the depths of League One very rapidly in recent years; on a safe and solid financial footing and a very specific way of going about their business. Their modus operandi is very similar to that of Brighton, who have achieved similar success. Actually, I understand that Brentford owner Matthew Benham is not very popular with Brighton owner Tony Bloom, with whom he used to work. I'll leave the reasons for that to your imagination...

It was interesting to hear Brentford manager Keith Andrews, when interviewed after the game, implying that the way that Brentford work in selecting their playing staff would lead him to not fancy trying to implement what works at Brentford with 'other groups of players'. Suggesting that character is very important when putting together successful groups, and probably implying that disparate groups of individuals - the likes of those put together by clubs such as Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United and Chelsea - are far more difficult to keep pulling in the right/same direction. Fascinating... As Arsenal fans, we know that character is a key trait that Mikel Arteta and his team take into consideration when looking to bolster the Arsenal squad. So the clubs appear to share that viewpoint

To the game itself:

The news a few days prior of the loss of Havertz for several weeks was - frankly - not unexpected; if nonetheless disappointing. One doesn't come back from a year out and expect smooth sailing. If he can be back for Chelsea, that would be handy. 

The loss of William Saliba through illness was another blow; for all that his deputy Cristhian Mosquera did well enough.  And whilst Saka and Odegaard were back on the bench, this all meant that Arsenal were perhaps a little light on 'first choice' players for a test of this magnitude. The key selection was that of Eze in an attacking midfield role - how he performed was likely to be critical to the way the game went. With Manchester City having literally strolled to victory the previous evening (Fulham having rolled over for them) to cut the gap to three points, the pressure was certainly ramped up a little for the league leaders.

The atmosphere felt electric - at least from my armchair. I am sure that stadia such as the GTech under the lights, with big visitors such as Arsenal rocking up and the opportunity presented to try to make a statement, must feel different to any relatively mundane fixture on a Saturday afternoon. And Brentford were clearly up for the fight. Andrews had mentioned looking to 'create chaos', and this is something that the home side certainly did manage to do. Early on, Arsenal's play was jittery and error-strewn, as the ferocity (and I don't mean this as suggesting violence, by the way) of Brentford's press put Arsenal players under pressure all over the pitch. 

Nonetheless, there was little to report as regards penalty area action. A fairly tame header from Gabriel from a corner was all that Arsenal had to show for the first 10 minutes of play, whilst Brentford created nothing, and looked most likely to cause damage through the gargantuan long throws of Kayode. As it happens, the first one of those went out directly for a goal kick, but the aftermath of the second led to the game's first big chance. Raya - over-ambitious - gathered the loose ball and looked to set Rice away, but his roll-out was easily intercepted by Jensen. and the midfielder's subsequent cross was met with the full power of the forehead of Igor Thiago. Raya redeemed himself with a brilliant point-blank stop.

And for the next 10 minutes or so it was almost all Brentford, with alarm bells ringing amongst the Arsenal ranks. This was not how this was supposed to go. Thankfully, the home side created little, but Arsenal are simply not used to this. It took them a fair while to regain possessional and territorial dominance. But half time arrived with very little more to report - apart from a booking for Gabriel - and with plenty of room for improvement from a nervy away side. Arsenal were offering little going forward, despite regaining control, and Brentford continued to look dangerous from set pieces; and especially on the break.

The almost completely ineffective (and fast becoming something of a disappointment) Eze was replaced at half time by Martin Odegaard, in the hope that he could inject some urgency into Arsenal's attacking play. Which he initially did; looking busier and helping Arsenal to move the ball quicker in the opponents' final third. There were early half-chances for Gyokeres and Trossard, as Arsenal started to look a little more like... er... Arsenal.

Just a word at this point on Eze. And Odegaard. And even David Raya. The former Crystal Palace player is still struggling to adapt to life at Arsenal. There have been flashes of brilliance - the assist for Martinelli against Manchester City, and of course the hat-trick against Spurs. But his languid style of play is often unsuited to the frantic nature of some games, and he needs to adapt to that. Odegaard, on the other hand, sometimes seems almost TOO eager to impose himself on matches. As I have said before; when he drops deep, there is no central link to the forward line He needs to learn the discipline of his role.

As for Raya. Well, I must say that I was disappointed at his distribution in this match. He seemed either flustered, or simply too eager to go long. Which made life difficult for Gyokeres, who was up against two gigantic central defenders.

On the hour, they finally got their noses in front. Hincapie, who had managed to work himself into several good positions at various points, intercepted a clearance and looped a cross to the far post where Madueke leapt higher than the diminutive Henry and diverted the ball back from whence it came and into the corner of the net, with the wrong-footed Kelleher flailing at thin air. The winger's second goal in successive away games, and a vital contribution.

Brentford upped the pace immediately, and the pattern was set for the rest of the game. It's funny how a goal can change players' mindsets, and the pattern of a game. A side can be on top and take the lead, but then a switch goes off and they change modes. In this instance, there was very much an element of looking to hold on to the lead - and this was evident almost immediately. All of which fed into Brentford piling on the pressure - especially from set-pieces.

That's not to say that Arsenal didn't have the odd chance on the break. From one, Odegaard robbed his man and found Rice inside the penalty area. He probably ought to have shot, but passed to Gyokeres - and the ball was taken off his toe by Kayode. But for that intervention, Arsenal would have put the game to bed. But Brentford broke directly from that, and Thiago worked Gabriel and Raya hard as he bore down on goal.

For the rest of the game the heart was in the mouth. Gabriel and Mosquera were both working overtime to keep Brentford at bay, and at every dead ball situation the home side were giving Arsenal a taste of their own medicine, with space in the 6-yard box at an absolute premium. 

I hate watching all that jostling at corners and suchlike, as I've mentioned before. Players get away with stuff in there that they cannot get away with elsewhere on the field. For all that Arsenal have profited over the years - and especially recently - from their prowess in these situations, I do wish that FIFA would change the Laws of the game here. It's unseemly and unsightly, and simply not football.

From another Kayode long throw, Brentford equalised. The ball was headed on at the near post to an unmarked Lews-Potter, who got the wrong side of Odegaard and directed a powerful header back past Raya. Which was what the home side deserved, frankly. But was there a foul on Gabriel as the ball came over?

Odegaard hurt his knee in trying to prevent the goal, and whilst he was able to carry on and finish the game he was limping badly afterwards. I hope that he's ok.

The rest of the game was frantic, with my pulse rate through the roof.  Gabriel brought down Outtara out on the right hand side. Could easily have received a second booking, but got away with it. Mosquera made up for an error in a chase with Thiago by getting back to prevent a shot on goal from the prolific Brazilian (who must surely have a chance of making his country's World Cup squad; such is his excellent form). Rice nipped in superbly to take the ball off of the toe of Damsgaard. Not long after, Thiago fired a cross-shot wide of Raya's goal. Arsenal were hanging on to a precious point by their fingertips. Brentford piled forward, and Arsenal certainly weren't looking like Champions-elect.

But there was more drama to follow as the game entered 5 minutes of stoppage time. Timber, set free following some proper centre forward play from Gyokeres, headed directly for goal with Henry trailing in his wake. He set up Martinelli who, by cutting back onto his right foot  instead of hitting the ball first time with his left foot, gave Kelleher the chance to get a block in. What an opportunity!

And so it ended 1-1 with, for a change Arsenal's xG (0.6) dwarfed by Brentford's 1.34. But this could be an absolutely vital point. From Brentford's point of view, this could also be vital as they hit 40 points, and go after in search of their first ever European spot. A spot that they richly deserve.

And as the WhatsApp group I mentioned last week went into another meltdown, I pointed out that we are in fact allowed to feel differently from each other about the current state of the run in. Arsenal are 4 points clear, and that's either a lot or not much at all depending on one's state of mind. As in every season, there ar sure to be twists and turns aplenty. 

I suppose that this is as good a time as any to look at the remaining fixtures of the main protagonists. That was one of Arsenal's most difficult remaining games, with only Chelsea and Manchester City themselves likely to cause Arsenal trouble on the run in. It is, of course, dangerous to predict, but I seriously expect Arsenal to gain 33 points out of their remaining 36 available, and that - irrespective of what Manchester City do - will be enough. I remain confident; if not quite as confident as a win against Brentford would have made me. Provided the squad stays relatively fit, they'll be ok.

So what’s next? Wigan at home in the FA Cup should be a formality. And then it's Wolves away in midweek - which should stretch the lead to 7 points. Next weekend, City host Newcastle and Arsenal go to crisis club Tottenham Hotspur. And the week after that is Arsenal's second most difficult remaining game - at home to Chelsea. Win that, and I seriously think that we'll be over the line. 

The fact is that Arsenal struggled to cope with Brentford's style. But not too many of their remaining opponents are capable of playing like that. Thank goodness! And, of course, the possibility of 4 games against City before the season ends is daunting... but I cannot get out of my head that they lost to Bodo/Glimt and made Spurs look good only a few days ago.

Let's keep the faith. COYG!