Brentford made a dream start to life in the Premier league as they defeated Arsenal at the Brentford Community Stadium, thanks to goals from Sergi Canós and Christian Nørgaard.

Although Arsenal had a 20 minute spell in the second half where they played some brilliant cutting edge football which had Brentford worried on several occasions, there weren’t many positives to take away from that game. Brentford looked like they had a point to prove and brought with them character, energy and determination.

Brilliant Brentford

This may have been the first time Premier League fans would’ve had a glimpse of this Brentford outfit and they sure were eager to impress. Thomas Franks’ energetic, powerful although unorthodox display, combined with the energy and support from the Brentford faithful, had Arsenal uncomfortable for the entire evening and as a result ended in an Arsenal defeat come the end of the 90 minutes.

Brentford exploited the fragilities of Arsenal’s defence to perfection. It was nothing ground breaking but the long diagonal ball, which was directed towards Arsenal defender and debutant Ben White, worked on every occasion. Brentford utilised the aerial strength of Ivan Toney to win nearly every first ball from goal kicks or long passes up field from either Ajer or Jansson. To put it bluntly, Arsenal were bullied and this isn’t the first occasion we have seen this happen.

Brentford should be looking onwards and upwards after today’s performance. If the fans and players can replicate this sort of atmosphere for the remaining 18 home games, then Brentford should be just fine come May.

Arsenal’s Defensive Issues

Arsenal for years now have been known for being soft all over the pitch (in particular their own penalty box) and ultimately giving away cheap goals. This has been a reoccurring theme throughout the latter stages of the Wenger era, through Emery’s short spell in charge and now Arteta’s reign. It’s a problem which hasn’t been addressed as of yet and although the acquisition of Ben White does go some way to improving Arsenal’s issues with playing out from the back, it doesn’t solve the more concerning problems of a lack of leadership or authority in defence. This was clearly on show tonight. Although good in possession, Ben White still struggles with a few aspects of his game. He isn’t the tallest so naturally isn’t much of a presence but players like Jules Koundé of Sevilla who is a similar height, makes up for it by possessing an incredible jump as well as being good if not better than White on the ball. Ultimately, White needs to find a way to be smarter in these type of situations.

The fact of the matter is, every ‘Top 6’ Premier League side have defenders who are exceptionally good on the ball e.g. Van Dijk, Laporte, Silva, Maguire. These players also happen to have a bit of physicality about them and a certain aura which make them feared by opposition attackers.  Ben White although an undoubtedly good footballer, doesn’t have the same aura about him.

What’s next for Arteta and Arsenal?

Arsenal did have some joy down the left hand side with Tierney and Saka in the second half. Most of the plaudits however, should go to young Emile Smith Rowe. He had the burden of wearing the number 10 shirt for the gunners, yet proved to be their standout player in what was a miserable evening for the North London side. He drove at the Brentford defence numerous times and was perhaps unlucky not to get on the scoresheet in the end. More is to come from him as he looks more than ready to step up in the absence of other star players such as Aubameyang and Lacazette. It’s safe to say that Arsenal’s future looks bright providing they can manage to hang on to their youngsters.

On the flip side, teams around the Premier League would’ve been eagerly tuning into tonight’s game and playing two quick and physical strikers up top seems like a good way to exploit Arsenal. This is something they will need to fix quickly. It doesn’t get any easier for Arsenal as in their next two fixtures they welcome newly crowned European champions Chelsea to the Emirates as well as a treacherous trip to the Etihad to face Premier League winners Manchester City. It’s highly unlikely that Arteta and Arsenal will come out of both fixtures unscathed and could potentially leave them in the drop zone come the end of August.

Could this give the Arsenal hierarchy some serious thinking to do over Arteta’s future?