Nick Bruzon picks out the best Bees after their Matchweek 7 defeat to Arsenal and we see the updated Top 5 over the course of the season so far.
Our first game back at the GTech after that unexpected hiatus from Premier League action is one that Brentford will want to forget in a hurry.
A 3-0 defeat at the hands of Arsenal saw the visitors return to the top of the table.
A 6th win out of 7 (seven) demonstrating just how they are holding off even Manchester City in the race for the Premier League title.
They were wonderful – when they chose to play football. Less so when indulging in all manner of gamesmanship that served only to run down the clock and disrupt any sort of flow. Referee David Coote seemingly oblivious to it all.
Yet to berate the ref or our opponents would be unfair.
Certainly, in terms of looking back at the game and the two teams. Arsenal were confident. Positive. Attacking. Skillful. In Gabriel Jesus, Mikel Arteta may have picked up the signing of the season. Erling Haaland aside.
Brentford, by contrast, a shadow of the team that swept away Leeds United so brutally last time out. Instead of the goals and creativity there was nothing but the odd flicker of hope. Hope that was snuffed out as quickly as it had appeared.
Perhaps it was the understandably sombre atmosphere but things never got going for The Bees.
Instead, Arsenal steamrollered us and whilst not Southampton away levels of bad (still, for me, last season’s low point) it is a game that will have given Thomas Frank a lot to contemplate as we head in to the international break.
Which means there is somewhat of a challenge now ahead, given we need to find a Star Man and top five performers from Matchweek 7 – a game where the Bees let in three without reply and failed to create any real opportunity…
Brentford Player Ratings from Matchweek 7 (vs Arsenal)
1st (Star Man) – Ben Mee
Colossal at the back. Again.
Ben missed out on our own top spot last time out thanks to Ivan’s heroics but there can be no doubt he was head and shoulders above everybody else on Sunday.
Strong in the air and quick on his feet. Clearance followed clearance as Arsenal sought to break through. That they took over a quarter hour to find their opener was as much down to Ben holding them off as anything else.
With Thomas Frank electing to switch back to three centre backs, it was perhaps inevitable that a more cautious approach would invite the opposition on to us.
Ben looked as comfortable in this set up as he has done when playing alongside Pontus or Zanka.
Whilst there may be a selection headache now approaching with Kris Ajer back in the team and Ethan Pinnock telling supporters outside the ground that he will be back after international break, you can be sure that Ben’s name will remain hard coded on to the team sheet. Good luck sorting that all out Thomas.
2nd – David Raya
Brilliant. Again. That a central defender and now a goalkeeper are considered our two best performers in a 3-0 home defeat speaks volumes.
There’s no place to hide as that last line of defence and whilst David could do little about any of the goals, there is little doubt that without him the scoreline could have been twice what it was.
Three times in the second half he produced top drawer saves to stop the deficit from increasing further. The first, point blank from Jesus when he was clean through on the angle. Then, a dive to his right to push away a Bakary Saka drive from the edge of the box before again denying Jesus after Pontus had been mugged.
It was a performance that showed, once more, why there was so much interest from Arsenal last summer. More performances like this, and with a World Cup coming too, might it put him back on Arteta’s shopping list?
3rd – Mikkel Damsgaard
At least there was some cause for optimism.
The Dane’s time on pitch has so far been limited as he finds his feet and his fitness.
However, this half hour cameo suggested there is much to be excited about. For Brentford fans and the player.
With the exception of Ivan’s free kick, he came closest to breaking our duck in the second half but it was as much the movement and the vision that gave cause for cheer.
Showed enough to suggest that he is going to give the more technically skilled sides a real run for their money once fully fit. Which is just about the majority of teams in this division
4th – Aaron Hickey
Another defender. Albeit from the wing back position.
If Arsenal have done good business over the summer then hats off to Phil Giles and Matthew Benham. Ben Mee on a free and, in Aaron Hickey, another demonstration of why we are investing in young talent.
He has settled in to this team and found his feet at this level so, so quickly.
Was the architect of those rare moments of attacking intent Brentford sniffed out whilst demonstrating, in defence, that he’s afraid of nobody in the league.
He just looks so at ease. So calm. So controlled.
5th – Rico Henry
With the midfield feeling like nothing more than an aspiration for large chunks of this game, such was the quality of the opposition, he and Arron were kept busy on both flanks.
The attack and the defence combined. One teasing ball over to Bryan early on suggested things might take a different turn but, alas, it was not to be.
Brentford Player Ratings – Top 5 Players Overall (after Matchweek 7)
All of which means that after a quiet game for England bound Ivan Toney, Ben Mee closes the gap at the top of the charts after Matchweek 7.
Aaron Hickey and David Raya are tied for third place with Vitaly Janelt in fifth. Last season’s winner of this prize, Rico Henry, is one point behind Janelt and just outside the top 5.
1st – Ivan Toney (18 points)
2nd – Ben Mee (16 points)
T3rd – Aaron Hickey, David Raya (11 points)
5th – Vitaly Janelt (9 points)
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2022-23 Brentford Player Ratings – Matchweek 7 by Nick Bruzon
