By Taiwo Ibrahim
Arsenal played out a disappointing 1-1 draw with Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium on Thursday to dent their Premier League title hopes, Sportivationng.com reports.
The Gunners failed to take match Man City’s impressive 3-0 win over Fulham on Wednesday after a shaky performance.
Mikel Arteta’s men were without Gabriel Saliba for the encounter with the likes of Eberechi Eze, Noni Madueke taking their places in the starting eleven.
The first half ended goalless before Noni Madueke opened scoring for the visitors in the 61st minute.
Ten minutes later, Keane Lewis-Potter headed in the equaliser to make it 1-1 for the hosts.
Brentford held on to seal a deserved point while Arsenal struggled to find the winner.
Brentford vs Arsenal Reactions
Arsenal goalkeeper, David Raya was disappointed with the result.
He said: “Disappointed with just a point. We stick together. It’s a tough place to come but we just have to stick together and we are still in a great position and we go again.
On the first half performance: “It felt fine. We dominated most of the first half until they got momentum. We dealt with it very well and scored the goal in the second half. I thought that was going to be enough but they played dangerous on set pieces and we conceded. We had the chances to win the game but we didn’t maximise them.”
On the gap reducing to four points: “We are still in a great position. We have to focus on ourselves. We have the FA Cup on Sunday but we go again on Wednesday.”
On the other hand, Brentford’s goalscorer, Keane Lewis-Potter was delighted with the point.
He said: “We are happy but at the same time feel like we could have won the game. It’s definitely a good point.”
On his earlier missed chance: “I should have done better there. I got a second chance and I wasn’t going to miss that one.”
On the set piece goal: “No secret really. We train hard on them. At times this season it hasn’t paid off. Today it did. Arsenal are a very good team on set pieces and we try to pride ourselves on it as well.
“Confidence is sky-high right now and we could have easily won it. We carry on going to the end and on another day we could win it.”
Brentford coach, Keith Andrews was full of praise for his players for their impressive performance in the encounter.
He said: “Didn’t get the win, but I thought we were excellent. In most aspects for most of the game against a top, top team.
“Martin Odegaard changed the dynamic of it and how they played. I thought we were excellent for the last 30 minutes and looked the team most likely to win.
“The attitude, application, and the intent I am big on that. The intent always has to be right, it always has to be positive.
“Ability is one thing that brings you to a point, but as a collective you need good people.”
Mikel Arteta described the game as chaotic while ruing his team’s failure to get the maximum points.
He said: “The game had moments. We started without the control and dominance we wanted but after that we got the rhythm and had situations to score.
“We started the second half brilliantly. We scored the goal and then we controlled the game but after that the game became chaotic. The moment you start to give away one or two free-kicks, the ball goes into the channels in can go out for a throw and then it is a nightmare. They can throw the ball from anywhere on the pitch. You get into that game and it is very difficult to get out.
“They are one of the best historically in the league [from set-pieces] and they have developed this year with the long throw. It is a real threat and difficult to defend.
“We were giving free-kicks away you cannot do. We should have had more composure to play through them.
“We wanted to win so we feel like we dropped two points. They are very difficult. We keep going.”
Arsenal will be back in action against Wigan in the FA Cup fourth round on Sunday at the Emirates Stadium.
Brentford will slug it out with Macclesfield Town on Monday in the same competition.
