BRENTFORD 2-0 ARSENAL
- Goals: Sergi Canós (£5.5m), Christian Nørgaard (£5.0m)
- Assists: Ethan Pinnock (£4.5m)
- Bonus points: Canós x3, Pinnock x2, Raya x1
Newly promoted Brentford enjoyed a dream start to Premier League life as they deservedly beat Arsenal 2-0 to kick off the new season.
Sergi Canós (£5.5m) fired the Bees into the lead via an Ethan Pinnock (£4.5m) assist for the opener, before Christian Nørgaard (£5.0m) headed home from close-range in the second half.
It may be early days for Thomas Frank’s side, but the result and nature of the performance suggest that this season can be more than just a battle against relegation.
MBEUMO V TONEY
Though most of the Fantasy discussion during pre-season was focused around talisman Ivan Toney (£6.5m), it was team-mate and out-of-position midfielder Bryan Mbeumo (£5.5m) who carried most of Brentford’s attacking threat on the night.
The 22-year-old was the most advanced of all Bees players, often operating on the shoulder of the last defender, and he was unfortunate not to have returned having come close to scoring on a couple of occasions.
Interestingly, it was Toney who found himself deeper in Thomas Frank’s 3-5-2, tasked with bringing others into play. However, we should point out that he was heavily involved and perhaps unfortunate not to pick up an assist during the 90 minutes, though the fact he didn’t register a single goal attempt is perhaps a little concerning for his owners.
Canos actually had a better minutes-per-chance average than the 31-goal striker last season (albeit with many efforts coming from distance) and he topped the shot count for Brentford on Friday, also taking both of the Bees’ corners.
Defensively, the backline did look vulnerable at times, though the performance of David Raya (£4.5m) was encouraging as he made several crucial stops and as a result collected a bonus point.
Brentford boss Thomas Frank said:
“I think the players today were amazing, they ran themselves to the ground, played with intensity, they were brave and pressed high constantly. On set-pieces I thought we were better, that’s why we did long throws and at times we could go high and knew that we could win the ball and create chances.
Ivan (Toney) has an unbelievable character and mentality and he has such a presence on the pitch. How many duels he wins… he can link-up and press for the team. He is very important to us. Bryan (Mbuemo) did a good job of stretching them, of going one-v-one and with his pace he is a big threat.”
SMITH ROWE, TIERNEY CATCH EYE
On a frustrating evening for Arsenal in which they looked short of ideas, Emile Smith Rowe (£5.5m) and Kieran Tierney (£5.0m) were the only real bright sparks.
The Gunners no. 10 pulled the strings from deeper areas, regularly breaking forward into the final third, while team-mate Tierney (no. 3, below) was one of the Gunners most advanced players and finished the match with 52 final-third touches, 11 crosses and six created chances – all game-high totals.
Arsenal’s average position map vs Brentford
However, no one at Arsenal was able to get on the end of those crosses, which highlighted just how much they missed forwards Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (£10.0m) and Alexandre Lacazette (£8.5m), who were both struck down by illness earlier in the day.
On a possible Gameweek 2 return for the duo, Arteta said:
“I can’t change that. We knew that before the game. I don’t know (if they’ll be available for the next game.”
For new signing Ben White (£4.5m), it was a night to forget as he was bullied by Toney throughout, and was part of the failed attempt to defend the throw-in that led to Brentford’s second goal.
Brentford XI: Raya, Ajer (Bech Sorensen 71), Jansson, Pinnock, Canos, Onyeka (Bidstrup 80), Norgaard, Janelt, Henry, Mbeumo (Forss 86), Toney
Arsenal XI: Leno, Chambers (Tavares 81), White, Mari, Tierney, Sambi Lokonga, Xhaka, Pepe, Smith Rowe, Martinelli (Nelson 71), Balogun (Saka 59)
