Arsenal experienced another disappointing result after their 1-0 defeat to Everton as they were held to a 1-1 draw against Brentford.
Mikel Arteta must be pulling his hair out as he watches his side lose momentum in the Premier League title race, and Martin Keown has now shared his thoughts on today’s draw at the Emirates Stadium.
What’s the story?
Well, the 56-year-old felt that Gabriel Martinelli delivered a poor performance against the Bees when praising Leandro Trossard for opening the scoring.
Speaking on Final Score, Keown said: “It was a wonderful finish, he couldn’t really miss, but his movement was essential. Arteta wanted him (to come on) because Martinelli hasn’t had a good game and Trossard has added something extra to this Arsenal team.”
While Arsenal were not good enough as a unit, it cannot be denied that the Brazil international had an underwhelming afternoon in north London.
As WhoScored shows, Martinelli only had one shot on target before he was replaced by Trossard in the 61st minute, while also failing to register a single key pass.
Strangely, the Arsenal No.11 also failed to record a successful dribble, which is usually his bread and butter.
It was certainly an uncharacteristic display from Martinelli, and he will need to do much better if he is to keep Trossard out of the starting XI.
Arsenal must react after 1-1 Brentford draw
Arsenal got away with their 1-0 defeat to Everton as Manchester City suffered a 1-0 loss to Tottenham, although Arteta cannot afford to keep letting points slip away.
If Manchester City pick up three points against Aston Villa on Sunday, the Citizens can go level with the Gunners should they win Wednesday’s meeting at the Emirates Stadium, which would be a disaster for Arsenal given the fact they were eight points clear a few weeks ago.
If the Gunners cannot react properly to today’s 1-1 draw, then their title challenge could fall apart.
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