Arsenal were held to a 1-1 draw by Brentford at the Emirates on Saturday, all but ending the sliver of hope the Gunners had of catching Liverpool.
Arsenal outplayed and outfought Real Madrid in a 3-0 win at the Emirates Stadium in midweek, but it was a much more subdued atmosphere inside the same ground on Saturday when the Gunners trudged off the field at full time against Brentford, the scoreboard reading 1-1.
Brentford were sturdy in defence, limiting Arsenal’s creativity. The Gunners were unable to produce a shot on target until near the end of the first half.
Thomas Partey then gave the home side the lead in the second half, just after the hour mark. Tuesday’s hero Declan Rice, released by David Raya, bolted up the pitch and laid the ball off to his Ghanaian teammate, who finished cooly.
However, Brentford had a few things to say in response. An audacious lob from Brentford’s right back Michael Kayode caused some confusion in Arsenal’s box, and when the ball landed to Yoanne Wissa, the in-form centre forward made no mistake. Arsenal’s lead had lasted all of 13 minutes.
The draw means that Liverpool now need only nine points from seven games to secure the title. The Reds could indeed win the title as early as 20 April.
What Mikel Arteta said
“We are disappointed with the result. We had full control of the game and conceded a very poor goal. It was not good enough and when you don’t do what you have to do against this team, you concede a goal.
“Today what we wanted to do was increase the probability of us really challenging for what we are looking for in the Premier League. With that result, it’s more unlikely to happen.”
