Arsenal were held to a frustrating draw by Brentford as the lead at the top of the table was cut to four points after Manchester City’s win earlier in the week.
After a first half which recorded just four shots between the two sides, the second lowest for a first half display in the Premier League this season, there were big expectations going into the second period. Martin Odegaard came off the bench to replace Eberechi Eze, who had offered very little.
The impact was immediate, and after 15 minutes Arsenal had the lead, with Noni Madueke heading in from Piero Hincapie’s cross. However, the lead would last just ten minutes as Keane Lewis-Potter headed in at the back post from a long throw.
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Here is how fooball.london rated the performances of the Arsenal players involved:
David Raya – Nervy moment early on when a pass into him was miscontrolled and nearly rolled in. After another error, which led to a cross finding Thiago’s head, the Spaniard redeemed himself with a mega save. 6
Jurrien Timber – Was not able to get far up the pitch as he would have liked and found the battle with Rico Henry particularly testing. 6
Cristhian Mosquera –With William Saliba missing, the pressure was on the Spaniard to deliver in his stead. He did well in the circumstances, and superbly blocked a potentially goal-bound attempt from Igor Thiago with a sliding tackle. 8
Gabriel – Made a mess of a pass in the opening minutes, gifting Brentford a corner. However, he redeemed himself with a potentially goal-saving block from an Thiago shot.
He was, however, very fortunate to avoid a second yellow card after a late challenge on Dango Ouattara. 7
Piero Hincapie – A mixed first half as he found a couple of crosses, but from the Brentford set plays looked vulnerable. Yet it was indeed one of his deliveries which helped Arsenal break the deadlock. 7
Martin Zubimendi – Arteta was seen shouting at the midfielder, wanting him clearly to play more through the Brentford team at times. 6
Declan Rice – Had plenty of room to run in the first half and dealt well with the transitions. Found the pass inside the box, which Gyokeres should have finished, but was stopped at the last second by Ouattara. Right at the end found himself preventing a goal with a great touch in the box. 8
Eberechi Eze – Was almost invisible in the first half. When he got on the ball, he wasn’t able to create anything of note and was unsurprisingly taken off at half-time. 4
Noni Madueke – After very little impact in the first half, the winger scored the most unlikely of goals, a brilliant, reverse header that Caoimhin Kelleher could do little about. 7
Viktor Gyokeres – Struck an isolated figure for much of the first half, and couldn’t be found for a meaningful chance. Could have scored if he hadn’t been beaten to the ball in the box by Ouattara. 6
Leandro Trossard – Lively, certainly more so than his opposite, found a shot on the edge of the box blocked at the start of the second half. 7
Substitutes:Martin Odegaard – In his first few minutes on the field, he had already had more impact than the man he replaced, finding a great ball into Hincapie, whose cross was begging to be tapped in. Set up a chance in the box which should have led to a goal. 7
Bukayo Saka – Came on to replace Noni Madueke. However, it was mostly Brentford after the equaliser, and Saka could not get into the game. 5
Gabriel Martinelli – Had the chance to win the game right at the end but Kelleher was quick to close down the shot. 6
Riccardo Calafiori – Replaced Piero Hincapie late on. n/a
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