What we learned from Arsenal v Brentford


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What we learned from Arsenal v Brentford


By Oscar Maung-Haley

Here’s what we learned from Arsenal’s opening-day Premier League defeat to Brentford on Friday night.


Arteta is already under pressure


It’s not often that one loss, the first of a new league season, can leave a manager feeling the heat.
But Arsenal are no ordinary club.
The 2-0 loss to Brentford has heaped more pressure on manager Mikel Arteta’s shoulders after just 90 minutes of action.
There have been signs of promise during the Spaniard’s tenure so far, but consistency in performances remain fleeting.
In September alone, the Gunners face Chelsea, Manchester City and arch rivals Spurs.
Defeat in all three of those ties, as well as results in the other late summer fixtures could spell and end to Arteta’s tenure.



Lack of depth up top


Martinelli

Arteta opted for a 4-3-3 in Arsenal’s season opener, with Gabriel Martinelli, Folarin Balogun and Nicholas Pepe leading the front line.

While Martinelli and Balogun remain exciting prospects, with the former having just played a part in Brazil’s Olympic gold success, they are still relatively untested at Premier League level.

Captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and last season’s top scorer Alexandre Lacazette both missed the match against Brentford with an illness, exposing just how threadbare Arsenal’s attacking options really are.

Obviously, Bukayo Saka will most likely feature in attack or in the three behind a central striker in a 4-2-3-1, which will help the Gunners tenfold.

But the warning signs are there already for Arsenal and they may need to dip into the transfer market to bolster their forward line sooner rather than later.



Ben White needs some time to settle


It’s safe to say that summer signing Ben White didn’t have the best of debuts on Friday night.

Signed for £50m from Brighton, the centre-half looked lost on his debut alongside Pablo Mari, with Brentford forward Ivan Toney bullying him in the air on more than one occasion.

Clearly, White shouldn’t be judged off one performance, but he’ll need to find his feet quickly at the Emirates, especially with the pressure well and truly on after an opening day defeat.

Especially with a match-up against new Chelsea signing Romelu Lukaku coming up in just a matter of days…



It’s one game, with a host of key players missing


Ok, yeah, it’s not an ideal result.

No one wants to lose 2-0 to a newly promoted side in the first game of the season.

But it is just one game.

Arsenal were missing Aubameyang, Lacazette, and Gabriel, all of whom would be deemed first choice starters.

And also, one games does not make a season either – there’s time for Arsenal’s new arrivals to bed in and time for players who missed the Brentford game to return.

Equally, should Martin Odegaard sign from Real Madrid in the next few weeks, it will bolster Arsenal’s ranks massively.

It’s one game, it’s not the end of the world – although it might be in a few weeks’ time…


Photo Credit: Getty Images

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