Ivan Toney’s 15th goal of the season salvaged a 1-1 draw for Brentford to prevent Arsenal from going eight points clear at the top of the Premier League.
Leandro Trossard’s first goal for the Gunners gave them a second-half lead at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday, but striker Tony equalized with a header after 74 minutes of the London derby.
Toni also hit the crossbar in the first half before being awarded an equalizer following a VAR review, extending the Bees’ unbeaten run to 10 games.
Arsenal are six points clear of second-placed Manchester City going into Wednesday’s game, but it is three games without a win for the leaders in all competitions.
Rico Henry capitalized on a good chance to put Brentford in front after Toni failed to hit the target from long range.
The dangerous Tony proved to be a real asset and scored with a right-footed strike after combining brilliantly with striker Brian Mbeumo.
Arsenal struggled to break down an organized Brentford side and Gabriel Martinelli volleyed over the bar from inside the box late in the first half as chances fell the Brazilian’s way.
David Raya denied Buyako Saka at his near post and Martin Odegaard fired straight at the keeper at the start of the second half.
Given another good chance to open the score, Brentford continued to threaten and Toni was side-footed.
Four minutes after replacing Martinelli, Trossard stole inside the six-yard box to lift the roof.
Arsenal’s joy was short-lived, however, when Toni headed into an empty net after Kristian Norgaard had set him up, and the Gunners paid the price for not taking care of a piece as they were allowed to stand after an offside check.
Arsenal player ratings
GK: Aaron Ramsdale – 4/10 – Needlessly committed to trying to beat Norgaard to the ball prior to Brentford’s equaliser.
RB: Ben White – 5/10 – Provided little use at either end of the pitch.
CB: William Saliba – 3/10 – Manhandled by Toney in a role-reversal of the reverse fixture back in September.
CB: Gabriel Magalhaes – 5/10 – Was extremely fortunate that Mbeumo’s early strike was ruled out for a soft foul.
LB: Oleksandr Zinchenko – 6/10 – Wasn’t self-destructive and was decent in possession, unlike his defensive colleagues.
CM: Thomas Partey – 6/10 – Competitive in the midfield battle with Norgaard.
CM: Granit Xhaka – 5/10 – Played a little more like the Xhaka of old, making strange decisions under pressure.
RM: Bukayo Saka – 8/10 – Arsenal’s shining light. Made life tough for Henry and unlocked the initial route to goal.
AM: Martin Odegaard – 5/10 – Couldn’t quite pick the lock against a deep defence once again.
LM: Gabriel Martinelli – 4/10 – Easily snuffed out by Roerslev. Had no idea how to play his way out of double teams. Replaced by Trossard just after the hour mark.
CF: Eddie Nketiah – 5/10 – Struggled to stand out against another deep block.
Substitutes
Leandro Trossard (62′ for Martinelli) – 8/10
Fabio Vieira (81′ for Xhaka) – N/A
Manager
Mikel Arteta – 5/10 – Arsenal lacked their usual intensity and while bringing Trossard into the game helped change that, the hosts couldn’t sustain that level.
Brentford player ratings
GK: David Raya – 6/10 – Made some decent saves and was useful in playing from the back.
CB: Kristoffer Ajer – 6/10 – Looked assured in his first big game since returning from injury.
CB: Ethan Pinnock – 8/10 – The man mountain lived up to his nickname. Cleared everything away.
CB: Ben Mee – 7/10 – Had to help Henry slow Saka down. Did most of his duties well.
RM: Mads Roerslev – 7/10 – Would have been a flawless performance had he not let Trossard evade him for Arsenal’s opener.
CM: Vitaly Janelt – 6/10 – Provided the necessary grit in midfield.
CM: Christian Norgaard – 7/10 – Sloppy on the ball for the most part but grabbed a telling assist and was excellent defensively.
CM: Mathias Jensen – 6/10 – Wriggled his way out of tight holes and helped progress the ball.
LM: Rico Henry – 5/10 – Made to pay by Saka. Little lucky not to have conceded a penalty in the first half.
CF: Bryan Mbeumo – 7/10 – Caused all sorts of problems for Arsenal and did his bit defensively too.
CF: Ivan Toney – 9/10 – Got his revenge against Saliba after the Frenchman pocketed him earlier this season. Dominated their duels and grabbed a deserved goal.
Substitutes
Yoane Wissa (71′ for Mbeumo) – 5/10
Josh Dasilva (71′ for Janelt) – 6/10
Kevin Schade (90+6′ for Toney) – N/A
Manager
Thomas Frank – 8/10 – The Dane said this week that Brentford would need to be at their best ever in order to leave Arsenal with something. They were very, very good indeed.
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