London — When Brian Mbeumo drove in at David Raya’s near post, you could be forgiven for thinking that was as far as Arsenal’s title race was concerned. Liverpool, who have reached the highest level in Europe, have nine points and have played one more game? Whatever Mikel Arteta said afterwards, it would have been difficult to convince anyone that Arsenal were turning things around.
Fortress G-Tech (is that from a JRPG?) may have been breached by Nottingham Forest before Christmas, but Thomas Frank’s men are a formidable opponent who are capable of adding to the opening 13 minutes at their home stadium. Brentford have previously ruined important periods for Arsenal. West London was doing the same thing again.
More than that, this felt like the right moment for Arsenal to run out of steam. The first real test without Bukayo Saka had to be done without Kai Havertz, the perfect target for Raya’s press release, who was ruled out due to illness. Some on the pitch looked worse for wear after New Year’s Eve, with Arteta confirming after the game that players were battling bugs “both on and off the pitch”.
The left flank of Riccardo Calafiori, Mikel Merino and Gabriel Martinelli looked like they needed reps they hadn’t gotten all season. For half an hour, Gabriel Jesus sauntered across the pitch with his arms raised in response to another duel being pushed aside by Nathan Collins. Constant breakaways across the front line (Ethan Nwaneri came on for his first Premier League start on the right flank) meant their pressing was completely neutralized.
Receive your order in 24 minutes. A side pass along the Brentford backline to Sepp van den Berg and Martin Odegaard brings his men forward. Nwaneri, with the sparkling ball, needed instructions and was a little too late for Keane Lewis-Potter. Nonetheless, the ball moved toward the infield, and Jesus covered Collins. Minor problem? No one picked up Christian Norgaard, showing a direct pass from Mark Flekken in the center of the pitch. In an instant, Brentford were advancing.
It felt cruelly appropriate that Odegaard, who had been out for two months in the autumn in the first place, should take on the role in what felt like the end of his life as he lost Arsenal’s way. A rare loose pass was blocked by Mikkel Damsgaard and, in his frustration with himself, the Arsenal captain chased the ball rather than get back into shape. Calafiori was isolated against Mbeumo and the end result was inevitable.
“When we went down the goal it became a big mountain that was hard to climb,” Arteta said. “The team showed a lot of composure and was very calm emotionally, because we needed that in the game today. They also had the right desire to keep asserting, keep attacking and read them in a difficult way.”
They certainly showed composure at the right times, but not immediately after Brentford’s opener. Perhaps we would say the same about the title race if Raya hadn’t reacted with such urgency when he threatened to spill Lewis-Potter’s shot into his own net and keep the ball safe with his big left glove.
“What’s going through my mind? Hopefully the clock doesn’t vibrate. That’s all,” Arteta said.
For a moment it seemed as though fear had spread to Arsenal. Did you mean you couldn’t do this without Sarkar? Were they recalling Ivan Toney’s criticism of Ben White in the summer of 2021? Whatever it is, for some time now it has looked like the fundamentals were missing from one of England’s best teams. They returned to the same team they had in 1999, unable to play on a wet and windy Wednesday. stoke Hounslow.
But this team isn’t like that. All they needed was a little encouragement to remind them of that fact. Seconds after Raya saved from him, Gabriel Jesus enjoyed a poacher’s renaissance and rebounded Thomas Partey’s shot to rouse Arsenal again.
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It took until the second half for their improvements to be meaningfully reflected on the scoreboard, with 11 stubborn Brentford bodies around the box slowing Arsenal’s pace. It wasn’t long before the crowd of defenders began to be more of a hindrance than a help, and Flekken clashed with what looked like half of his team as he attempted to clear a Nwaneri corner delivered as deep as Saka into the six-yard box. Merino was ready to go home. He may not be the most elegant midfielder Arsenal have signed, but Arteta didn’t bring him in for build-up play. He’s a big body who can box crash, bang, waller and just his presence confuse defenders as big as Brentford.
“The density they defend when they are deep requires a lot of men with threats in the box,” his manager said. “He’s a master at it.”
Merino flew into the box once again three minutes later. He hasn’t really done much with Nwaneri crosses recently. Somehow the ball was deflected in Martinelli’s direction to volley home.
Arsenal were ahead 3-1. It was more than they needed. It’s becoming almost routine to note that this defense is the best. What you shouldn’t notice is how much better it is than the rest. After Raya’s flap, Arsenal conceded just two shots on goal in over an hour of football. For the fifth time in six league games, the opposition’s shots were worth less than 0.3 xG. We are no longer among the best defenses in the sport. This is like Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea. A level of excellence that we cannot convince ourselves is sustainable.
Those numbers speak to the sheer belligerence of this side. Rarely does one goal conceded lead to two goals and no further goals were scored throughout 2024. When they find themselves in a moment of doubt, they pull themselves out. They certainly won’t believe their league season is over.
Arsenal will no doubt be looking for long-range shots, especially with Saka out. Still, you won’t let them get in their way. A win at Brighton on Saturday evening would take the Gunners three points clear of the leaders before they face Manchester United. After that, Liverpool will be six points ahead with a game in hand, enough to make them strong favorites to win the title. But other title rivals know that if something goes wrong with Arne Slot, only one of their lynchpin players can suffer an injury.
It’s been Arteta’s misfortune that it’s happened twice – first to Odegaard and now to Saka. Perhaps a title is not achievable for a team that has had its two best attackers both out for more than two months. However, Arsenal are currently refusing to accept this reality.
