Brentford vs Arsenal - Match reaction and player rating

[HCZ_Reborn]

Have to say can’t remember the last time I watched an Arsenal game I enjoyed as much as this, and it looked to me like the players enjoyed themselves as well


So let’s do some player ratings


Ramsdale 7 - Had sod all to do but did what was required of him well


White 7 - Did put a shift in defensively and was good at getting us away on the break


Saliba 8 - Someone who plays in a far more mature way than his age would suggest, mopped up everything aerially and set us away for the third goal after tidying up his own error


Gabriel M 7 - Was a bit worried when he was grabbing his hamstring in the first half, but seemed to play off the injury and was solid


Tierney 7 - Best game since he’s come back from injury by far, led the break down the left


Partey 8 - Was the engine in central midfield, prevented Brentford from getting anything going in the centre of the park, intercepted everything


Xhaka 7 - Still worries me the space he leaves in getting forward, but he did track back well at times…make an excellent interception in our box at 3-0 and laid on an inch perfect pass for Jesus to head in for 2-0


Vieira 8 - Slick on the ball and a sublime long range goal taken with nonchalance


Martinelli 6 - Doesn’t seem as confident without Zinchenko behind him and cut inside a bit too often for me, though was fairly decent in possession


Saka 6 - Wasted a good chance to score in the first half because he couldn’t get it on his preferred foot, seemed to link up ok with Vieira


Jesus 9 - Absolute menace, just covered so much ground and was pivotal in all areas of the park. Unfortunate to only score once, but absolutely MOTM



Subs


Lokonga 5 - Took him a while to find his bearings and we could have been punished if we didn’t have a bigger lead


Nketiah 7 - His running and his work rate are top notch and he’s a definite super sub


Tomoyasu 6 - Minimum impact, did what he needed to do



Marquinhos and the other boy - weren’t on long enough to form an impression on

[Mac76]

mostly fair but ridiculous rating for Martinelli, just one slip in front of goal early on, but overall he was brilliant today, did the job of two players and was a key part of how we kept Brentford subdued

8 at least

oh and as for Nwaneri (or the 'other boy' as you call him) i think breaking a PL record constitutes making an impression, also made a good tackle - top marks 10

[HCZ_Reborn]

mostly fair but ridiculous rating for Martinelli, just one slip in front of goal early on, but overall he was brilliant today, did the job of two players and was a key part of how we kept Brentford subdued

8 at least

Disagree, he’s at his best when he skins his full back and takes the ball in behind them, he seemed far more keen to cut inside today. Don’t get me wrong he definitely didn’t have a poor game…no one who started did. But I’ve seen far, far better from him on the pitch this season.

[21_GOONER_SALUTE]

This was the game I feared and not the Man U game, as I felt how we handle a stable side like Brentford would tell us far more than the yoyo team Man U is.

What I learnt is we have improved considerably, especially the fact that we were able to score the kind of goals that we did and keep the clean sheet in the manner we did. Honestly we could really be competing for the title, if by some sort of miracle, Partey and Jesus never get injured and Xhaka doesn't have his Xhaka moments.....but we all know this is not possible and thats why I am hugely disappointed that we didn't address all these issues in the transfer window.

Citeh will probably win the league this year scoring a gazillion goals but definitely next year Liverpool and Chelsea would have gotten there act together and things would be much tougher.

We are a well oiled machine ,but only when every single cog is functioning...which is impossible as people will breakdown and get tired. In short, we should have forked out for Teilemans and another top striker and we would have had a season to remember this year.

Anyway lets enjoy the blessing of our easy fixtures while we can...top of the table with almost a fifth of the season played...laudable!!

[21_GOONER_SALUTE]

Disagree, he’s at his best when he skins his full back and takes the ball in behind them, he seemed far more keen to cut inside today. Don’t get me wrong he definitely didn’t have a poor game…no one who started did. But I’ve seen far, far better from him on the pitch this season.

His work rate is easily one of main reasons we are where we are. Klopp would love a player like him and do wonders with him. He being injured for a significant amount of time would affect our attack significantly. Can't say the same for Saka who I generally rate higher. We just have to face it, Martinelli is a key cog in this (Artetra's) Arsenal.

[Marc Overmars]

Superb result. Really, really impressed with that.

[HCZ_Reborn]

His work rate is easily one of main reasons we are where we are. Klopp would love a player like him and do wonders with him. He being injured for a significant amount of time would affect our attack significantly. Can't say the same for Saka who I generally rate higher. We just have to face it, Martinelli is a key cog in this (Artetra's) Arsenal.

Have to face it? I rate Martinelli highly he’s without doubt one of my favourite Arsenal players

At his best he can totally fuck up defences….Chelsea paid over 70million for Fofana and he and Gabriel made him look like a chump.

And again I didn’t say he played badly, I just think in terms of his attacking play it wasn’t as good as other games this season

As for Saka. I think he’s just been coasting this season. Unlike the Scots terrorist lover I don’t have a problem with him, but he’s been complacent. Needs to realise the ball isn’t always going to come to him on his preferred foot.

[selassie]

You can't really ask for much more from this team, we are seeing everything coming together almost flawlessly. We dominate games, we are very good on and off the ball, we are pretty quick all over the pitch, physically strong and the players seem confident. Aside from injuries, I don't have any big worries about this team compared to our rivals. What i mean by that is that if we keep a relatively fit squad throughout the season I expect a challenge for 3rd/4th place and deep runs in one of the domestic cups and the Europa League.

The game next against those lot down the road is huge, we need a statement performance and result.

[HCZ_Reborn]

Interesting post match interview from Thomas Frank, he said his team didn’t play that badly…and actually was very complimentary of us…said we would be title challengers

He’s wrong of course, we won’t be…no one is challenging City for the title this season…it’s theirs. No poor reflection on us, but a player like Haaland is going to make it next to impossible for any side to challenge City for a while….I can see them doing a Bayern Munich and winning multiple titles in a row

But I think in the past with a slightly bigger squad we absolutely could have challenged.


But it’s nice to get that kind of acknowledgement. Especially from the coach of a side that along with Brighton I greatly respect.

[21_GOONER_SALUTE]

Have to face it? I rate Martinelli highly he’s without doubt one of my favourite Arsenal players

At his best he can totally fuck up defences….Chelsea paid over 70million for Fofana and he and Gabriel made him look like a chump.

And again I didn’t say he played badly, I just think in terms of his attacking play it wasn’t as good as other games this season

As for Saka. I think he’s just been coasting this season. Unlike the Scots terrorist lover I don’t have a problem with him, but he’s been complacent. Needs to realise the ball isn’t always going to come to him on his preferred foot.

What I meant was I agreed with your assessment of his game, but not your rating, mainly because his work rate is so important for us, that I think its kind of positively contagious. Also, Arteta's side starts defending from the opposition's half, something I've been screaming about for years that would allow the team to generally defend better and we are all seeing the results of closing down and playing most of the game in their half with and without the ball. Martinelli again is the lynchpin when it comes to that. I have stopped rating him on his goals or assits; his work rate is what I look at, his tackles, his interceptions,his holdup play, he's been really impressive.