Arsenal failed to bounce back after the loss against Everton, darwing 1-1 against Brentford at the Emirates.
Despite a first Gunners goal for Leandro Trossard, Arsenal opened the door for Manchester City to close the gap at the top of the table, before their visit to North London in midweek.
Here’s how the players rated this afternoon.
Read the Arsenal 1-1 Brentford report and see the goals here
Arsenal 1-1 Brentford – Player Ratings
The ratings are hidden by default until you vote, but if you just want to view the ratings and the comments, flick the switch at the top above Aaron Ramsdale. Also, please give the ratings a few seconds to load.
does st:totteningham day count as a trophy?
No, we don’t want to be like them. Accompany it with an actual piece of silverware. It’s still in our hands ffs!
I think the rating is just too harsh. We didn’t play that bad. it’s just Brentford played well defensively and good on the counter plus our defensive unit wasn’t their usual self. The is still time, the tittle is still in our hands. CoYG
Last year we didn’t bottle it as injuries destroyed us with a small squad, this year we’re definitely on the road to one of the worst bottle jobs ever, a win against city and we’ll be fine, lose and were fucked
Come on. This happens in this game.
You are absolutely right. I think we need to recall that Florin boy.
I think a lot of the players need a rest and rotation is needed Ben white was slow and slowed play down when in possession and was very leggy against Everton he got subbed in that game in this one at least he made overlaps but was still too leggy I see fatigue, not just him xhaka as well revert to this sideway passes.. Tomiyasu need to start against city and Trossard need to start as well I would play Martinelli through the middle and Nketiah on the bench but I’m sure Arteta would start with Nketiah
We all knew (or should have known) this wasn’t gonna be an easy walk in to the finish. I would honestly be happy with Top 3, but still hope that we can get through this tricky patch and go all the way to win the league. But winning it is still an unlikely outcome I believe. I’m an optimist, but we have to be realistic about this young squad and manager. I’m so proud of my team and the huge steps we’ve made this season. COYG!!
very refreshing realism
City might well beat us on Wednesday but that doesn’t mean it’s over as they too are not at their best and will drop points between now and the end of the season. There’s going to be lots of twists and turns before the end. Even Man Utd aren’t completely out of it
Well.. ultimately there was always going to be a period in the season when we had a difficult spell and it appears that time is now upon us… which is far from ideal.. And I guess our title credentials were always going to be put to the test when we played City, it was always going to have to be us getting something against them in both games.. if we’d have kept the 8 point gap going into the game you could argue a point would be enough… with what will most likely be just 3 points between us before… Read more »
No chance of winning against City if Arteta doesn’t do something about the White-Odegaard-Martinelli axis of weakness of the last three games.
I just think we are in a bit of rut, we’ve played a couple of games in a row where teams are happy to sit in and its about us breaking them down to score. I am hoping that playing an expansive team like City in a big season defining game will facilitate our goal scoring and creativity again..
I think now we’re over half way everyone is going to largely play the same way against us. Soak up the pressure and try to hit us. We have to be prepared for how to deal with that. Sad thing is their goal was clearly offside on two counts. Perhaps starting Trossard might be a good idea, just to give Martinelli a rest. We need to be using the squad more. Tierney and Tomi can both provide a threat from fullback but they were left on the bench when we were trying to nick it. Still, whatever happens right now… Read more »
Ødegård weakness? Are you blind. He was Arsenals best player today, genial pass ti Saka before our goal.
You know genial means friendly, right?
Add Zinchenko-slow-the-play to that list.
Zinchenko was really slowing it down all the time, except for that one time early in the first half. There’s a slight arrogance there, that despite your deep block, we’ll wear you down. Rather, the thinking should be that we can score goals this other, quicker way as well.
Did you watch the game? Martin had at least 5 magnificent passes and was the only one who seemed like he could create a goal for us, which he eventually did
Yes, although not up to the sublime standards he set earlier in the campaign, Odegaard was effective but tired badly long before the end.
Tomi needs to start against Citeh. I’d even look at Trossard up front with Eddie coming off the bench.
He could then also put Ben in for Saliba – who’s been uncharacteristically shaky for a couple of games….
Like three players who were pivotal to us earning 50 points in the first half of the season have suddenly become ‘the problem’ in just 3 games
I dispute your maths, sir. City require a win and a draw, or better to gain on us in our head to heads. Two draws do not bring them closer to their rival. It is – although it doesn’t feel like it – advantage Arsenal.
I hope the Nketiah hype ends today so we can all move on and understand Nketiah cannot lead us to the promise land lets be real. He doesn’t run behind defends he’s too static in the middle
Chadd
couldn’t agree more!
Nketiah is a luxury at the moment as i have said many times on this comment section if he doesn’t score he’s anaymous
When teams play a low block there is very little room behind their defenders into which any of our attackers can run into. This affects not just Eddie but also Martinelli and Saka
We wouldn’t have the room to store them all.
We also do this once the transfer wimdow is shut
Didn’t see any of the game but Jeez, can remember blogs ripping into the team like this, this season.
We were much better than the Everton game, but our build-up was too slow and it allowed a very good Brentford defence to organise themselves, and we tried to pass our way through them. Also, the goal should have been ruled out for offside, VAR missed it.
Yes, much better than the Everton performance but Brentford missed two sitters and created the better chances throughout. We were fortunate to escape with a point
Blogs was at the game. I’m pretty sure these ratings were done by someone else (Andrew Allen?)
AA goes to every match, not sure why Bloggs would be delegating?
Billy Dunmore
Really missing Jesus now
Dunno, feels like it’s easy to always say “missing X” when X is injured and we go through a bad spell. A big part of the bad spell is the players in most of the other positions underperforming, and while Eddie wasn’t good today he certainly wasn’t fed the type of passes that he was consistently being given last month when he was scoring. Do I want Jesus back? Sure I do, but we have no way of knowing if this run would’ve been different with him in the team so let’s not make Eddie the scapegoat.
Was confident going into that City game on Wednesday… not that confident anymore.
Why don’t we try refreshing the squad with a few changes like starting Tierney, pushing Zinny into the Xhaka role, bringing in Tomi etc. Especially when teams have learned to double up on our wingers? Refresh things and try another plan.
Hopefully, Arteta figures something out. Don’t want to give haters the opportunity to say “I told you so”.
This game showed Arteta is still a very cautious manager. The team needs refreshing, it’s obvious for all to see, Unless he’s forced to change personnel by injury/suspension he would rather stick with his trusted 11, we’e seen this before.
The guys who earned us 50 points in the first half of the season probably earned that loyalty from Arteta
I’d shift Ben across into Saliba’s slot, bring Tomi in at RB.
Trossard up front with Eddie to come off the bench and run like bollocks for the last 15-20 (if we need it).
Likewise, Tierney on at about 60 mins with Ziiiiiiinch shifting up into midfield.
Given what (nearly) happened in the Everton game I’m not sure Zinchenko has the sang froid to keep his head against his old team
Looked nervy to me throughout. Brentford could have gone in two up at half time. That’s 3 games in s row now nketia has had very little impact on games. I think we will see it a few more times yet. Really miss Jesus. He creates chaos in the box and as a result others are much more threatening and goal threat is on another level.
Nketiah as had his little purple patch. I have said it for 3 years , he should be no where near a starting position
some of our fans won’t agree they prefer green votes to the premier league title
yes
No, Nketiah didn’t have a bad game, but our game play meant he was surrounded by a lot of defenders and only the top top strikers can do miracles in that environment. Jesus is a top top striker and we missed him today.
I agree the hype was too early
So, you’ve been wrong for at least 2.5 out of 3 years 🤔
Absolute nonsense. His numbers are still outrageously good.
You probably blame him for ticket prices going up as well.
Trossard should start and bluntly, Eddie can’t play against a low block. He had no purpose on the pitch today.
Having said that, a title race isn’t always perfect and we move forward, big game Wednesday.
you would wonder why we exit other competiton just to play like we just got back from a european trip without any training session
Opponents have started to give us respect by setting up defensively, we need to find answers and fast. Martinelli has no space to run into and Xhaka is also unable to take up those positions like he did earlier in the season, there is no free space in behind now. Ramsdale, White and Saliba have decided to drop off all at the same time. Trossard and Tomi need to step in now, may be even move Saliba out for a bit intead of White.
Bit harsh…maybe things will look better after a little sleep 🫠
We just need JESUS back in our lives….
A bit more than a bit.
I took a sad nap after the game myself, things weren’t better after waking up 🙁
Yeah, I woke to that Manc VAR twat saying he’d ‘forgotten’ to draw the lines 🤬
I hope by the end of the season we dont regret not bringing in quality players during the winter transfer window. signings like Jorginho would depress any football team dressing room.
Seems like I saw one of those winter transfers score our only goal. And it’s not like the much more expensive ones that Chelsea bought are banging them in by the bucket.
one is quality the other even the fans of his former club wanted him out. Mark my word you will agree with me in the nearest. By the i said something about us signing trossad and lamtey last two season ago but i got alot of down votes.
one is quality the other even the fans of his former club wanted him out. Mark my word you will agree with me in the nearest future. By the way, i said something about us signing trossad and lamtey two season ago but i got alot of down votes
what are you going on about lad? if it’s jorginho it’s a new one even for the comments section on here. you can’t make him the scapegoat when he didn’t play.
Jorginho turned down the role of the demon for the movie sequel Exorcist IV “I Eat Your Babies and they are Delicious” as he feared being typecast as a villain (Too late for that round these parts it seems)
You’re clearly a genius.
yes yes yes and yes
If the players you’ve targeted just don’t want to come to Arsenal, or their owners simply won’t sell, there’s very little you can do about it. We were plenty active in the market but there’s no point stockpiling ‘mammals with pulses’ just to appease the fanbase.
Against City I’d drop Zinchenko for Tierney, Trossard for Gabi or as a false 9 at the expense of the ineffective Nketia. Also Tomi for Benjamin. Tinker with the style of play a bit.
Agree in principle but not for the City game – we will have more space and counter chances, and I think our usual selection is best. Would make changes for Villa
Exactly, I’d keep it the same against City and any other team that will come out and try and play. But against the others, the teams that sit deep and try and hit on the break, I think we need to change it.
The thin quality of the squad is now showing itself. Apart from Trossard, nothing to throw on. And the wear and tear of playing the first half of the season well above expectation is working its way through the defense, and through Xhaka and Odegaard in particular.
True. Viera is that.
A worrying performance again.
Martinelli effort masks his ineffectiveness
Nketiah proved we miss Jesus badly, he couldn’t unsettle my mum never mind a big defence
Partey is sloppy and slow.
We lack real threat
Partey has been brilliant for us! He cuts out threats, keeps the ball moving and although at times he can be a little sloppy, his pros heavily outweigh the cons.
Agree with the other stuff though.
Ooof, those are some tough ratings blogs, but both centre backs definitely had a chasening experience today. Rest of the team no better tbh though a very favourable, assist a side he wasn’t at the races and hadn’t been since Utd 😞
“very favourable rating for Saka”
Saliba needs to go to the gym; it doesn’t help being 6,4 feet tall and yet you are bullied by someone that stands below 6,0 feet. Trossard was excellent.
Because, as we know, every other centre half in the league has handled Toney easily.
No need for whataboutism, my point was about Saliba’s lack of physicality. Ivan is a beast, but at least be in a position to physically compete if you are as big as Saliba. It was sad to watch. Speed, technical ability, and football intelligence won’t be enough. The lad needs to muscle up.
Speed, technical ability and football intelligence are more than sufficient for Virgil Van Dijk and Thiago Silva (you can even remove speed for Thiago Silva)
Nor Haaland – but even our Rob did the job on him for 50-odd mins. WIlly was off the pace today. And has had a few worrying brainfarts in other recent games.
Saliba is a big prospect, but he’s still learning, which is why that loan at Marseille was so important. The Premier League is next level.
That is my point. He is a prospect, and one of his shortcomings is using his big frame to physically impose himself. Strikers in the EPL are generally strong and physical. He got bullied today.
Are you saying Toney is below 6 feet tall..?
Stats say he is 5,10. Trust me, I was flummoxed.
Was Martinelli playing today?
Since he signed his new contract he has disappeared without a trace.
Reminds me of Walcott after he got his new contract.
Still six points but this is the worse time to have a slump//
This is really unfair. He is a young player doing exceptionally well. Let the boys develop. Henry was a nobody struggling in the French league at his age.
because he is young, the truth shouldnt be said are this the kind of excuses we would give at the chsmpions league next? He is arsenal’s no 11 for christ sake. How old is Mbappe?
A young player who demanded £180,000 a week – and got it. So he needs to earn it.
He is a great player and very young and in truth I probably was a little harsh – the whole team needs to get its mojo back – not that we are in any way near a slump but still…
Agreed
He’s been very quiet the last few games. I agree.
He just needs a very well earned rest
We need Jesus now more than ever.
Cedric would have been useful today🤣 he does love a cross seriously i the Brentford goal was offside in two ways. First by mee taking up an offside position which affected the gk and by the fellow who crossed the ball. Further the foul given for the kick was a joke. Completely a play on or a kick for Arsenal. i think tierny and tommy would have been better selections today. Zinchenko was awful. He held the bal too long and him drifting inside just made a crowded midfield more crowded. The bees were not at all worried about overlaps… Read more »
Why would more crosses against a team who completely dominated us in the air in their own box have been beneficial? If Thomas Frank could have chosen how Arsenal would play then that would have been top of his list.
I used to be confident of our defenders’ ability to deal with aerial balls but not after this. This was a very bad showing from them. Title charge not going according to plan.
Gabriel and Saliba got bitch-slapped all day by Toney and Mbeumo
Trossard to start against City on Wednesday please. He’ll be pumped up
we should’ve either proposed a different game or played different players, but i think there was a clear mismatch between what we wanted to do and the players we had to do it. white played well, but he’s not the fast, tricky, dangerous overlap we need when our players are being doubled on, as i think tomiyasu is. kind of the same with nketiah: i feel he’s a very good finisher, but doesn’t have jesus’ trickiness to solve things in tight spaces, nor the height to finish the crosses that we were sending. i think that’s also the reason why… Read more »
I thought White was our best defender today (although that might make him tallest dwarf in the village…)
Zinchenko needs to sit a while. He hasn’t been very good lately, and today he was an absolute nightmare. Missed passes, stupid shots. I thought Gabriel was much better than you thought.
Bit surprised by the ratings, we played much worse against Everton. The absence of Jesus is starting to be felt, particularly against teams that sit deep. Eddie has done really well but still has a lot to learn in that position, compare and contrast his performance with Toney.
Yep, Toney is different gravy to Eddie I’m afraid. We all worried about Jesus getting injured, then he got injured and Eddie did ok but many in here got carried away. Comments like Jesus will struggle to get back into the team. Jesus is so effective in the box and that allows saka and martinelli and odegarrd to threaten much more than they have in last three games.
Very very harsh ratings. We all need to calm down and stop expecting to win the league. We are having a very good season and the club appear to have regained some of their past competence on the whole. Let’s enjoy the rest of this season & see what comes in May.
P.S. There will be points dropped in a 38 game season. You can’t win every week.
so, if you’re rating players, you should rate them well when they perform poorly because 38 games?
That’s not what I wrote at all. My ratings were around the 6-6.5 mark. Blogs gave 3s and 4s, probably because he was very annoyed by the result. Had the equaliser been ruled offside (and I reckon it should have), we would all be much happier with the same performance that brought a draw today.
Troy Deeney says COJONES and today we lacked. Again. I would have rated similarly to Blogkamp. Context from Everton performances would be included in the ratings. If there’s a sniff of “we need to a response” in the post match, I’d recommend they wear a helmet till Wednesday.
Well said. Everton was a worse performance. I think folks are underestimating Brentford, they are literally the in-form team at this moment.
I didn’t do the ratings today
The ratings were to be provided by Video Assistant Referee Lee Mason but he forgot so Billy Dunmore did the needful.
Who ever did them gets no arguments from me!
Confidence goes up on the stairs and I did not see a disastrous second half like others did. I saw a team still fighting and keeping possession well but not making the best decisions in the final third. No players looked as if they had given up. Now’s the most important time to back the team and create a raucous atmosphere on Wednesday so the team is fired up.
P.S. Don’t expect changes to the first 11 on Wednesday against a team that will leave space in behind.
COYG
Our tempo seemed to slow down in attack… Not as intense as b4. also oppositions are doubling up on saka/martinelli. Doesn’t help with such well organized defense. Need to find a new way to crack as more teams are gg to do this esp when we are on top of the league. Hope we rectify this soon. I badly want us to win the league this season. Cant come any better.
So, I saw a game where Arsenal dominated but could not break through and where Brentford’s physical play caused us real problems, just as it has for everyone else. Certainly, they had a couple of very good chances that they failed to take. In attack, I thought Odegaard was very good in the first half, that Partey controlled from a slightly more forward position than normal, and we could do very little in the clogged centre, though it *almost* came off often–where we were as likely to score as they were on the other end. So, not a good game… Read more »
We only dominated possession and territory. Brentford controlled the game and created the better chances throughout
Well lads, let’s get straight to the fucking point. Nothing less than 3 points will do next Weds against City!
Honestly, I’d be more than happy with one.
Some serious over reaction on here yet again. Brentford are massively over achieving this season and we seem to be treating them as some kind of walkover team. They’ll go on to take points from all the top 10 teams. We definitely struggle against the low block, physical, counter teams but so does everyone else. Anti football is a problem for us but we can sign CL level creativity and solutions as soon as we are a CL team. Wednesday will be a completely different type of game. Also as the season nears an end some of these teams will… Read more »
There was no movement in the box. When martinelli had the ball on the left touch line, xhaka, nketiah, saka would just stand in the box while being outnumbered 5 to3 and dominated height wise.
1. Nketiah needs to rotate with either martinelli on the left or with Odegaard in the middle.
2. Start Tomi over Ben White.
3. Start Trossard over Martinelli.
4. Sub in martinelli for Xhaka for last half an hour or so.
5. Arteta needs to be questioned about what improvements did he make after the Everton defeat, because it was the ditto performance.
Very harsh rating. Must have not taken the opposition into consideration. Short memories blogs.
Unfortunately l had to give Vieira 1 just for that last kick of the ball. What were you thinking!
We don’t have a striker to bring on. Our only offensive changes we can bring on are trossard and Vieira. And Vieira is not ready for this level. Nketiah basically has to play 90 minutes 2 to 3 times a week. We blew.the transfer window. Trossard obviously a good buy. But should have spent for Felix and even another creative mid, if possible. Now we are static until Jesus and esr come back. And both will be rusty. But no way was it a foul by Saliba and the goal was offside which is hard to take because var is… Read more »
To be fair we’ve played the same number of matches as City and are 6 points ahead. We have increased our lead since the world cup. We just need to draw against city and get Jesus and esr back. Then kick on.
It’s a good point – there is too much talk about the HUGE pressure on us for Wednesday’s game… the real pressure is on City. We can afford a draw… they have to win! We all need to take a breath and remember that we just have to hold what we have now, the others need to make all the running. That’s not to say we should be complacent in any way. But nor should we hit the panic button after a couple of average performances. We’ve played our way into a position where we can afford the odd ‘average’… Read more »
It’s clear most teams are going to play us like they did today. This is where we need Jesus back badly as he gives us something different with his constant movement and skill with the ball in the box as well as his ability to get quick simple shots off with little space. We had some good looks in the first half that we just shot high into the stands (like Zinchenko on one particular one with his right foot which professionals should be able to do better with their weak foot on especially when you look at the cross… Read more »
I think we got very lucky to get away with a draw today, on another day Toney would have had a hat trick and if we play like that on Wednesday Haaland WILL have a hat trick. I don’t think one of the starting 11 did themselves justice today, particularly Zinchenko and Martinelli. My son said Martinelli has got aubaitis as he has been so poor since signing the contract. Trossard has to start on Wednesday. Also the lack of a 3rd attacking sub shows you how much we miss ESR. Vieira was on for 15 plus mins again and… Read more »
I know he wasn’t on very long, but Vieira contributes very little either as a starter or as a sub
Very harsh ratings today blogs, we played much better than against Everton
Martinelli’s great strength is his speed. Maybe it would be better to play Trossard at the start, and bring on a fresh Martinelli for the last half-hour against tiring defenders.
Martinelli has earned a much needed rest
Tough loss, fairly flat performance.
Hard to accept when saka is a gets run over from behind on the box and no penalty. Disappointed I was naive enough to think saka being England’s best player in there works cup would earn him some cake in the prem.
Brentford had what 4 touches on their goal and at least one person was offside on each touch.
Appreciate that the way most are talking about this game it seems like a loss, but we actually drew mate.
Love you blogs but Brentford were well organised, full of confidence, have that giant blonde twat at the back and Toney and Mbeumo.
There were every bit as good as Liverpool, Chelsea & Sp*rs right now (if not better) but I wonder if you’d have given the CBs both a 3 if we drew 1-1 with any of them and dominated the game?
We only dominated possession and territoriality. Brentford missed two sitters, had a goal incorrectly disallowed and created the better chances throughout. They also controlled the game for most of the 99 mins and could (maybe should) have won by by 2 or 3. Toney and Mbeumo bitch-slapped Gabriel and Saliba all day long and probably wish they could play Arsenal every week.
Zinchenko was abysmal today. I gotta fault Arteta for not taking him off around the 60-minute-mark when it was clear that he was not his usual self.
Looking at these ratings you’d think we were terrible today
Tough game, Brentford on fire at the mo. Thought they were excellent, thought we weren’t great but not that bad.
Every single one of our title winning sides had home games like this. Not saying we’ll win it but you are certain to drop home points.
If Pep has any sense then he’s setting City up defensively and hitting us on the break.
we are officially in a funk it would seem…struggled for ideas upfront all game
5.5 for White, and 3’s for both Saliba and Gabi? Did you people not watchthe head tennis that was happening on the pathetic Brenford goal…… in the zone that White is specifically supposed to own? He was a ball watching passenger today, has been for the last few games, and he cannot play against City or we will be torched on his side.
It was a catalogue of errors that led to their goal but Ramsdale appeared particularly culpable
Who is Billy Dunmore and why has he got it in for our boys? We’ve been a lot better than this most of the season, but nonetheless, those ratings are savage.
Two points dropped (by the visitors) who were in every time they broke on us in that first half. Still, it was better than Everton but at this rate, even a stuttering City will be relishing playing us on Wednesday. Martinelli has earned a much needed rest and Tierney should be unleashed to replace a faltering Zinchenko, whose inverted LB party-trick every opposition manager has worked out by now. Brentford executed a meticulously prepared game-plan to perfection and really should have won by 2 or 3. If we’re pinning our title hopes on the vagaries of VAR operators we really… Read more »
Zinchenko 4.5? Are people insane? He was the best one out there.
Many will beg to differ. But it’s a game of opinions.
Wouldn’t fault him for effort, but the words ‘Headless’ and ‘Chicken’ spring to mind.
Never mind the poor reffing performance because if i was a Brentford fan i would be really disapointed that we didn’t win it. They should have been two up before we got going Henry getting in the way and putting it wide from three yards and England Striker Toney missing from six yards when the goal was open and i won’t mention when Mbeuno stuck it the back of the net a free kick was given from what was a slip by Gabriel.Our two centre backs struggled all afternoon with the sheer physical presence of Brentfords two big strikers. I… Read more »