Arsenal’s wafer thin hopes of contesting for the Premier League title were dealt another seismic blow following a 1-1 draw against Brentford at the Emirates.
Four days after their stunning 3-0 win against Real Madrid in the Champions League, Mikel Arteta’s men were brought crashing back down to earth with a draw that puts them 10 points adrift of Liverpool having played a game more.
Thomas Partey opened the scoring for Arsenal after 61 minutes but Brentford responded through Yoane Wissa 13 minutes later.
A hard-fought draw in N5. pic.twitter.com/LxTNwVlwiF
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) April 12, 2025
The draw means Liverpool will extend their lead to 13 points if they beat West Ham at Anfield on Sunday.
Liverpool could even be crowned champions as early as next weekend if Arsenal lose their next league fixture at Ipswich, and Arne Slot’s side see off West Ham and then Leicester at the King Power Stadium on Easter Sunday.
Arteta, who made five changes but elected to retain set-piece hero Declan Rice from the side that ran riot against Madrid, was clearly animated on the touchline, shouting “let’s go” in a bid to lift his players following a tepid first 20 minutes which felt like a testimonial.
And it was the visitors who created the first real chance of the game when Bryan Mbeumo played through Kristoffer Ajer but David Raya was equal to it.
Kieran Tierney had the ball in the net after he headed home Ethan Nwaneri’s cross after 26 minutes, but the Scotland international was offside and VAR intervened.
Christian Norgaard could perhaps count himself fortunate to escape a red card when his off-the-ground scissor tackle on Gabriel Martinelli was deemed only a bookable offence. Arteta was incandescent with the decision.
Mark Flekken then took no chances with Oleksandr Zinchenko’s low drive which he turned round for a corner, with the Brentford goalkeeper also equal to Rice’s shot five minutes before the interval.
Leandro Trossard let fly from range as half-time approached, but Flekken punched his effort clear and it was goalless at half-time.
As the hour mark approached, Arsenal were in desperate need of a spark and Bukayo Saka, so impressive on his first start in nearly four months against Madrid, captain Martin Odegaard and Myles Lewis-Skelly were told to get ready.
Scenes. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/YZ3kyh3PBL
— Brentford FC (@BrentfordFC) April 12, 2025
But as the trio were preparing to come on, Arsenal’s breakthrough arrived. From a Brentford corner, a quick-thinking Raya ran to the edge of his area before throwing the ball to Rice.
The midfielder collected the ball in the centre of his own half before an exquisite first touch took Mikkel Damsgaard out of the game.
It allowed Rice to drive at a back-tracking Wissa and Keane Lewis-Potter, who were both unsure whether to stick or twist.
With Martinelli on one side and Partey on the other, Rice’s precision pass to the latter allowed Arsenal’s right-back for the day to fire home. In all, 14 seconds had elapsed between Raya gathering the ball and Partey blasting Arsenal ahead.
Arsenal might have hoped Partey’s strike would be enough, but Thomas Frank’s players had other ideas.
Substitute Michael Kayode found himself in acres of space on Arsenal’s right-hand side. His chip to the back stick was met by Nathan Collins with Wissa meeting his team-mate’s header to score on the half-turn.
Saka had a chance to immediately restore Arsenal’s advantage when he caught Flekken dithering, but he failed to pull the trigger and the Brentford goalkeeper’s blushes were spared.
Arsenal pushed for a winner and Saka came closest when his effort flew past Flekken’s far post in stoppage time. But, in truth, they never looked like scoring a second, and their attention will now turn to Madrid and their second-leg quarter-final date against Carlo Ancelotti’s side on Wednesday.
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