With a rotated side and minds seemingly already in Madrid, Arsenal dropped points against Brentford to leave Liverpool just three wins from the title
Arsenal returned to Premier League duty with a subdued 1-1 draw at the Emirates Stadium against Brentford, a result that underscored how the team’s focus has decisively shifted toward the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid.
With five key players left out of the starting XI the Gunners looked, for stretches, as though they were playing on autopilot.
The result, combined with Liverpool’s form, leaves Arsenal further adrift in the title race, not that there has been any ‘race’ to speak of for weeks. But as Arteta made clear, this is now a team measuring its season by its exploits in Europe.
After a largely forgettable first half, the hosts finally burst into life on the hour. A sharp counterattack saw Declan Rice collect the ball deep, surge through midfield, and slip a pass into the number five, who finished cleanly. A goal constructed with clinical precision, it was the high point of a game otherwise lacking rhythm.
Moments later, Arteta introduced Saka, Ødegaard, and Ethan Nwaneri to try and control the game. But control turned into chaos following a lapse at a corner. A deep cross was recovered by Kristoffer Ajer, who centred the ball for Yoane Wissa, the Congolese forward volleying in brilliantly on the turn.
“I’m disappointed with the result,” Arteta said. “They are a team that obviously presents a lot of issues, and is very difficult to play against, so we have to be very patient, dominate them, make sure that we don’t allow them to run, and especially in the set pieces, because they are very, very dangerous there.”
He reserved particular frustration for the equaliser: “The action leading to their corner is disappointing, especially when we are in total control… That’s a lottery, and a game that you don’t want to play against them.”
The numbers told their own story. Brentford registered just three shots and an expected goals total of 0.19. But they made one of them count.
“The main positive is that they didn’t create anything,” Arteta said. “They still scored a goal from an action, again that was disappointing to see. That’s why we lost four points in the last two games, with that kind of goals conceded. If we want to be challenging, and really be in a position to win the Premier League, it’s not enough.”
Despite the disappointment, Arteta praised the execution of the counter that led to Arsenal’s goal. “Yeah, it was really good. It gives you an opportunity always, the amount of players that they commit forward in every set-piece to run at them. And the execution, the first pass from David with that kind of action, from Dec as well, committing all the way, he has the space to release Thomas, one against one, was really good.”
With one eye, perhaps both, on the Bernabéu, Arsenal managed to preserve key legs. But they also left points behind.
Whether that will matter depends on what happens next in Madrid.