LONDON — When Bryan Mbeumo drove into David Raya’s first post, you might have thought that was that for Arsenal’s title race. Nine points behind a Liverpool side reaching the highest levels of Europe, with a game more played? Whatever Mikel Arteta might have said next, it would have been difficult to convince anyone that Arsenal were changing that.
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 on their home turf, more than capable of adding to their opener in the 13th minute. Brentford has ruined big days for Arsenal before. West London prepared for the same thing again.
Much more than that, this just felt like the right time for Arsenal to run out of steam. Their first real test without Bukayo Saka, and they would also have to do it without Kai Havertz, the perfect target for Raya’s game-changing launches, sidelined by illness. A few on the pitch also looked worse for wear after New Year’s Eve, with Arteta confirming after the match that players were battling the bug “on and off the pitch”.
The left wing of Riccardo Calafiori, Mikel Merino and Gabriel Martinelli looked like it needed the reps it hadn’t gotten all season. For half an hour, Gabriel Jesus strolled around the field, his arms in the air, in response to yet another game in which he had been swept away by Nathan Collins. The brutal turnover up front – Ethan Nwaneri making his first Premier League start on the right flank – meant their press was completely neutralised.
Take a spell in the 24th minute. A lateral pass along the Brentford backline to Sepp van den Berg and Martin Odegaard calls his troops forward. Nwaneri, sparkling on the ball, needed instructions and was a little late to Keane Lewis-Potter. Still, the ball moved back upfield as Jesus covered Collins. The little problem? Nobody had picked up Christian Norgaard and showed a simple pass from Mark Fleken in the middle of the field. In the blink of an eye, Brentford came to the fore.
It felt cruelly fitting that Odegaard, whose two-month absence in the autumn put Arsenal off course in the first place, would play a role in what felt like the end of the road. A rare loose pass was snared by Mikkel Damsgaard, in his frustration with himself the Arsenal captain chased the ball rather than regain his form. Calafiori found himself isolated against Mbeumo, the end result inevitable.
“When we went down by a goal it became a big mountain to climb,” Arteta said. “The team showed a lot of composure, was very calm emotionally, because that’s what we needed in today’s match. They also had the right will to keep pressing, to keep attacking them and reading them in a way that is difficult. “
They certainly showed timely composure, but not in the immediate aftermath of Brentford’s opener. If Raya hadn’t reacted with such urgency when he threatened to spill Lewis-Potter’s shot into his own net and lofted the ball to safety with a big left glove, we might say the same about the title race.
“What’s going through my head? Hopefully the watch doesn’t vibrate. That’s all,” Arteta said.
For a moment the fear seemed to have reached Arsenal. Was it the feeling that they couldn’t do this without Saka? Were they having flashbacks to Ivan Toney’s thoughts on Ben White in the summer of 2021? Whatever it was, for a while the basics seemed to be missing from one of England’s best teams. They were back to the team that can’t do it on a wet, windy Wednesday Stoke Hounslow.
However, that’s not this team. All they needed was a little nudge to remind them of that. Seconds after Raya saved himself, Gabriel Jesus, enjoying something of a poacher’s renaissance, scrambled home the rebound from Thomas Partey’s shot and Arsenal woke up again.
It wasn’t until the second half that their improvements were meaningfully reflected on the scoreboard, with the eleven tenacious Brentford bodies around the penalty area slowing the Arsenal tide. It wasn’t long before many defenders began to become more hindrance than help, with Fleks crashing into what looked like half his team in an attempt to clear a Nwaneri corner that was delivered with a Saka-esque dive into his six-yard box. Merino was ready to go home. He may not be the most elegant midfielder Arsenal have ever bought, but Arteta didn’t sign him because of his good build-up. He’s a box-crash, scared, wallloper, a big body whose presence alone can confuse defenders as big as Brentford’s.
“The density with which they defend when they are deep requires people with a lot of threat in the penalty area,” said his manager. “He’s a master at that.”
Three minutes later Merino flew into the box again. He didn’t really do much with the latest Nwaneri crossbreed. Either way, the ball ended up right in Martinelli’s path to volley home.
Arsenal took a 3-1 lead. It was more than they needed. It’s becoming almost routine to note that this defense is the best out there. What shouldn’t go unnoticed is how much better it is than the rest. After Raya’s flap, Arsenal only conceded two shots in over an hour of football. For the fifth time in six league games, their opponent had shots worth less than 0.3 xG. We are no longer at the level of the best defense in the sport. This is the same as Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea, a level of excellence that you can’t quite convince yourself is sustainable.
These numbers speak of the sheer fighting spirit of this side. One goal conceded rarely results in two goals and in all of 2024 it has never led to more goals. When they find themselves in moments of doubt, they drag themselves out of it. They certainly won’t believe that their competitive season is over.
Arsenal will undoubtedly remain long shots, especially with Saka sidelined. Yet you wouldn’t put them on their path yourself. If they win at Brighton on Saturday night, the Gunners will be just three points behind the leaders before they take on Manchester United. After that, Liverpool’s lead will be six points with one game to go, enough to make them strong favorites. However, the other title rivals know that it can only take an injury to one of those key players for Arne Slot to face familiar problems.
It has been Arteta’s misfortune that that has happened twice, first Odegaard and now Saka. In all likelihood, the title would be out of reach for any team whose two best strikers both missed more than two months. For now, however, Arsenal refuse to accept that reality.