A 3-1 reverse for Brentford at home to Arsenal was about as exasperating as it comes for Thomas Frank and his Bees.
An early lead courtesy of Bryan Mbeumo (ably assisted by Mikkel Damsgaard) could well have been doubled with little less than a half-hour on the clock. Instead, David Raya was somehow able to recover and scoop KLP’s brilliantly worked shot off the line after initially fumbling it through his fingers. With Bees fans still contemplating what might have been, The Gunners went down the other end and levelled up.
1-1 at half time becoming 3-1 to the visitors within 10 minutes of the restart. The game out of sight by that point with only Martinelli’s third for Arsenal coming close to matching the magnificent Damsgaard-Mbeumo combination for a strike of any quality.
Gabriel Jesus’s equaliser a sloppy goal that the Bees defence really should have cleared. Enough opportunities came to get it away (seven Brentford players having a touch of the ball in/around the box) before Partey’s shot was parried straight in to the path of Jesus. The Arsenal man wriggling clear of van den Berg and no mistake made as he launched himself at the ball.
The second, minutes after half-time, equally frustrating. The normally excellent Mark Flekken having a rare moment off as a corner was played into the box and missed. The ball falling into a melee of players, school yard style, and eventually stabbed home by Mikel Merino.
With 55 minutes on the clock, Martinelli effectively putting the game to bed. A sumptuous finish after Nathan Collins’ headed clearance fell straight to the Arsenal man. Unmarked in the box, he made no mistake as he lashed it home at the first time of asking. 3-1 and game over. The Bees unable to resist the inevitable despite a raft of late changes.
Consolation, of sorts, at least coming from the return to action of Mathias Jensen. Likewise, Mark Flekken starting after going off early at Brighton. Whether he was still carrying any form of niggle who knows but let’s just put this one down to a bad day at the office all round.
Besides, if we are looking at niggles then Arsenal wrote the book on it. To be fair, referee Peter ‘North’ Bankes gave them carte blanche to get away with murder and they took full advantage. Every 50-50 going their way the mere icing on a cake packed so full of sh*thousery one could have been forgiven for thinking Steve Cooper was in charge of The Gunners. Except, of course, they won a match.
The extended drinks breaks and team talks after each goal, something Bankes seemed content to just sit back and watch. The visitors able to amble back with impunity and kill any attempt to get things going with immediacy.
Then there was the constant delaying over dead balls. The unpunished body checks. The grappling at corners. The stealing of yards at every opportunity. Something even more infuriating given Bankes’ decision to deny The Bees the same luxury for the most innocuous of distance based transgressions when a brilliantly taken quick restart caught Arsenal with their pants down.
All this before you get to Gabriel Jesus. Playing the role of grifter to perfection, he earned even more contempt from the home support than Thomas Partey. No small feat, all things considered.
This, following a performance littered with almost constant diving, moaning, cheating and collapsing like he’d been the victim of a particularly brutal ABH in order to break up play. Insert your own ‘Jesus rising from the dead’ punchline after yet another miraculous recovery.
His 91st minute substitution being met with the inevitable reception but the satisfaction of jeering and catcalls was scant consolation for the Bees’ faithful. Besides, Arsenal were the better team for huge swathes of this game and took their chances when presented. Had the aforementioned goalkeeping moments (one or each side) gone the other way then we could well be telling a different story.
Same old Arsenal, as the song goes. We could bang on further but what’s the point? Instead, it’s a case of looking forward to the weekend’s game at Southampton. The chance for a first away win of the season will surely be enough incentive for Thomas Frank and his squad (those still standing) to get back on the horse.
Until then, time for the top five player ratings. As always, five points being awarded for star player, four for second place, three for third etc with the totals added up game-by-game to find an overall winner for the season.
2024/25 Brentford Player Ratings from Matchweek 19 (vs Arsenal)
1st (Star Player: 5 points) – Mikkel Damsgaard
That’s three five pointers in a row for Mikkel as he moves even further clear at the top of our star player chart .
If there is more than a feeling of copy/paste to his inclusion in our top five, moreso at the top, it’s because he has been that good all season. Last night’s game was yet another example of his being head and shoulders above anybody else in the starting XI.
Brentford’s only goal coming from his opening up Arsenal with one of those beautiful balls drilled out wide from the middle, straight to Bryan on the wing. It is a move we’ve seen so many times this season yet one which works so well.
Despite the change in personnel and formation from the Bees, with Vitaly and Christian, sitting much deeper for longer, he still dominated possession through the centre of the field. One first half combo with the captain bringing a particular smile to the face.
This is great news for Brentford although not for those with a nervous disposition given the January transfer window is now open. All the talk on the clickbait pages is about Eddie Howe salivating over Bryan Mbeumo but I’d be more worried about Damsgaard being a target. He may not have the goals that his team mate does but his role in this current team is absolutely critical.
Wednesday was further example of why.
2nd (4 points) – Bryan Mbeumo
This is the reason why he is so coveted.
Yet another goal, taken with calmness and laser focused finish, that now puts him just three behind Erling Haaland at the midway point in the season. He picked it up out wide, cut inside and fired past David Raya to beat him at his near post from just inside the box.
An absolute quality finish on an evening where his effort deserved more. I really thought he was excellent, working hard down the right wing for another full ninety minutes. If nothing else, this is his sixth successive appearance in our top five.
Let’s knock the level of the opposition. When Arsenal weren’t reading from the big book of dirty tricks they really did look a tasty outfit. For Bryan to more than hold his own against this quality shows just what he offers.
3rd (3 points) – Keane Lewis-Potter
He really is football’s unluckiest player when it comes to goal scoring. Does all the hard work, creating opportunity from the depths of nowhere, then sees fate consistently sticks two fingers up.
This time around, it came in the shape of David Raya who must be a very relieved man this morning. Had KLP’s effort found the back of the net I have no doubt things would have been very different this morning.
Instead, we are left in a position where it was the best of several chances he created on a night where once more we had to pinch ourselves to remember his role as a wing back is one which only came about through desperate emergency.
He just looks that confident when the ball is down the Brentford end it’s hard to recall he started last season as fifth choice in that position – Rico Henry, Aaron Hickey, Vitaly Janelt and even Saman Ghoddos all ahead. At the moment he’s as nailed on as they come with the Arsenal game showing just why.
4th (2 points) – Yehor Yarmoliuk
Looking more and more settled into the team with every passing game.
Was at the heart of so much and, like Bryan, his importance to the team shown by another full 90 minutes. Mikkel Damsgaard may be getting all the plaudits but Yehor really has started to look the break through player in recent weeks.
Despite the talent in the opposition, wasn’t phased and even had the confidence to pull off some quite wonderful second half ball play when under apparent pressure.
5th (1 point) – Mads Roerslev
Another phlegmatic performance from Mads, first half especially where he really did keep the visitors quiet when pushing down that flank.
He looked assured and solid throughout the game, with Arsenal being forced to really step things up in the second-half.
Mads is perhaps not the ‘go to’ name when it comes to picking out the high-profile Brentford players, but if he carries on like this (he was top five last time out, too) he’ll be nailing down this position for sure.
2024/25 Brentford Player Ratings – Top 5 Overall (after Matchweek 19)
All of which means that heading into the game at Southampton, Mikkel Damsgaard moves even further clear. Can anybody catch him? KLP gets his first points on the board in five games whilst a rare blank for Mark Flekken means Bryan is closing on second.
1st – Mikkel Damsgaard (57 points)
2nd – Mark Flekken (41 points)
3rd – Bryan Mbeumo (38 points)
4th – Keane Lewis-Potter (32 points)
5th – Christian Norgaard (27 points)
