Arsenal

Laura Kirk-Francis
Fan writer

Image source, PA Media

Arsenal's 1-1 draw with Brentford on Saturday had the feeling of the second day of a wedding - still on a high from the night before, but perhaps failing to rally to the same heights again after such a small amount of time.

There will be time to dissect why Arsenal have drawn so many games this season in the Premier League, and why we dominate but do not always kill off teams.

But this is not the time. Right now, it is about the Champions League.

The footage of Declan Rice's wonderful double last week has been slowly scarring itself into the retinas of Arsenal fans everywhere. But with every replay I have watched, and every time I have reminded myself that we actually did beat Real Madrid 3-0, the bad thoughts are starting to creep in.

Nearly a week on and the catastrophising has begun. For reasons I cannot explain, my brain has been on a mission to remind me of every time Arsenal have thrown away a significant lead.

First up it was against Newcastle in 2011, which saw Arsenal concede four second-half goals having been 4-0 up at half-time. Next on this reel of nightmares is the 3-3 against Anderlecht in 2014, followed swiftly by the consecutive games in 2023 where Arsenal gave up 2-0 leads against Liverpool and West Ham respectively.

But this is not the Arsenal of old. This team is different. Even with Gabriel sidelined, our backline is strong. Although Rice's exploits were rightly the centre of attention from the first leg, Jurrien Timber and Myles Lewis-Skelly had the Real Madrid frontline on lockdown for the majority of the second half. There is no reason to believe they cannot do that again, regardless of what intimidation tactics Real Madrid plan to use.

I will be honest though, I will be watching Wednesday's second leg from behind a cushion and even behind my entire sofa. Even at 3-0 up, it is going to be a very long 90 minutes.

Find more from Laura Kirk-Francis at the Latte Firm podcast, external

Pat Nevin
Former footballer and presenter

Image source, Getty Images

Arsenal slipped up again - but their minds were understandably focused more on the Champions League than the Premier League.

If they are going to survive the certain onslaught, as Real Madrid attempt to claw back the three-goal deficit, every player will have to be at their concentrated best.

David Raya's performance will be vital on the night, but the influence of first-leg hero Declan Rice will be key. Having him at his best is like having an extra player on the field.

There is a proud but short list of players who could be named the best midfielder, the best attacker and the best defender on the field all in the same game.

These players include the likes of Bryan Robson, Roy Keane, Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard - who are loosely termed box-to-box players but were also the total heart and soul of their sides.

With those two brilliant free-kicks against Real Madrid and the wonderful assist against Brentford, he has caught everyone's eye. But the other side of him that doesn't show up on the highlights reels, or indeed on most of the stats charts, has been outstanding.

In the last 25 years, only the aforementioned Keane and Gerrard have been awarded the PFA player of the year by their peers. The gong usually goes to a striker or creator, but I would not argue against Declan Rice getting it this year.

Apart from the ability and the selflessness, I would happily vote for him because of his attitude. He is the perfect professional - an utterly committed team player and a true sportsman in the finest sense.

You will not see him rolling around in feigned agony, whatever the circumstances.

He is a role model for any youngster watching the game and indeed many current top professionals who should know better. He would have my vote and no-one would be more deserving.

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Arsenal have contacted Bayern Munich to enquire about the availability of 28-year-old French winger Kingsley Coman. (Sky Sports), external

Eintracht Frankfurt are demanding a fee of about 100m euros (£86.3m) for 22-year-old striker Hugo Ekitike, amid interest from Arsenal and Tottenham. (Bild - in German), external

Want more transfer news? Read Tuesday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Image source, Getty Images

Northern Irish teenager Ceadach O'Neill has signed his first professional contract at Arsenal.

The 17-year-old joined the Gunners from Linfield last summer and has been playing regularly for their under-18 side and has trained with Mikel Arteta's first team.

The winger made his Irish Premiership debut for the Blues as a 15-year-old against Ballymena United in November 2023.

O'Neill has captained Northern Ireland at under-17 level and told Arsenal's club website that he was "delighted" to sign his first professional deal.

"I knew it was going to be a bit of a challenge moving over, but I think I settled in well," he said.

"It's always a surreal moment just being able to be in the same pitch with the first teamers, so I really enjoy growing up with them and learning from them.

"The rest of this season, I just want to finish it off strong, just keep trying to score goals and get assists and carry on into next season."

Image source, Getty Images

We asked for your thoughts after Arsenal's Premier League game against Brentford, which ended as a 1-1 draw.

Here are some of your comments:

Arsenal fans

Guy: I'm not surprised by a lack of victory. Arsenal have been poor all year in the league. Second flatters us. We just don't look like winning these types of matches anymore.

Rachel: Disappointed, but not surprised by the performance. It wasn't easy to choose a standout player, probably Thomas Partey who had a decent match. Lacklustre and below par, seems that this is standard for the time of year. No doubt Real Madrid is looming large on the horizon.

Bola: Lacklustre, uninspiring. Mikel Arteta blew it, he killed the momentum with the first substitutions after Arsenal's goal. Ill-timed, poor judgment.

Tony: The B team were doing so well. I really can't understand why Arteta felt the need to make changes, to bring on the A team. All went downhill from that point and Brentford seized the initiative. Points needlessly thrown away.

Shaun: It's amazing that Arteta hardly ever makes a sub until late in the game when he starts with his strongest 11. Yet against Brentford, he makes three after an hour and surprisingly it's three players who were playing well. We were far better before the subs. Leandro Trossard clearly can't play centrally, and worryingly, Martin Odegaard was very poor again. There was not a lot in the game, but yet again we've failed to secure a win after taking the lead - a total of 16 points now dropped this season.

Brentford fans

Keith: It just shows how far we've come as a club when you can nullify a team like Arsenal for most of the match and only concede on the counter.

Will: This is a point we'd have been happy with any day this season, and I felt like we played well and went toe-to-toe with the Gunners. We didn't have many chances but we found a way. I hope we will see more of Gustavo Nunes and Michael Kayode as I feel like they added a variety we seem to need right now to be creative and undo opponents. A set of very tough matches done, the run in looks promising and I hope we can achieve a top-half finish.

Alex Howell
BBC Sport football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Before Liverpool's win over West Ham on Sunday, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta admitted that his focus is on Wednesday's Champions League quarter-final 2nd leg in against Real Madrid and conceded his side are 'unlikely' to win the Premier League.

Arteta made five changes to the team that beat Madrid 3-0 last week and his side could only draw 1-1 with Brentford despite taking the lead.

The game was very flat with the first shot on target not coming until the 20th minute and the action left little for the supporters to get excited about.

"I don't know." Arteta said when asked if supporters were thinking about the upcoming game with Madrid.

"The atmosphere was different to Tuesday, that's for sure. I don't know if it was playing in the back of the crowd.

"For us as professionals, we know the importance of that. Today what we wanted to do was increase the probability of us really challenging for what we are looking for in the Premier League.

"With that result, obviously, it's more unlikely to happen."

Midfielder Thomas Partey came off with a knock in the second half and is going to be assessed and midfielder Jorginho also came off late in the game meaning that Arsenal finished the match with ten men.

"We still have six games to play in the Premier League which are going to be really important but for sure now it is all about Wednesday." Arteta said.

Arsenal retain an interest in 19-year-old Ajax defender Jorrel Hato, although any potential deal for the Dutch international this summer is likely to hinge on the future of Jakub Kiwior. (Mirror), external

Meanwhile, the Gunners have no plans to sign on-loan Chelsea and England winger Raheem Sterling on a permanent basis. (Football Insider), external

Want more transfer news? Read Monday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Highlights and analysis from Saturday's five Premier League fixtures.

If you missed Match of the Day, you can catch up now on BBC iPlayer.

Listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Nottingham Forest 0-1 Everton

• Arsenal 1-1 Brentford

Image source, Getty Images

Mikel Arteta spoke to BBC Match of The Day after Arsenal's draw against Brentford: "It is disappointing because we lost two points. From what we did in the game, how we dominated and what we conceded I think we did a enough to win the game. Against Brentford if you don't defend the first or second actions well on set pieces then they are going to punish you big time. That is what happened.

"We had an open goal with Bukayo after and we did not make it 2-0 and then with 1-0 the game is always open. Very disappointed with the way that we conceded the goal."

On struggling to create: "It is always the case because they are well organised, so to constantly create chances on their goal is very tricky. We could have done better in many situations to finish the actions. When you do that and you score one goal it should be enough to win the game but we haven't managed to see it through."

On Jorginho's injury: "I don't know. He said he could not breathe properly so it might be to do with one of the ribs. It is strange because he normally carries on so that means it is something significant I think."

"[Minds on Wednesday?] The way we did the game certainly not. The way the feeling was with the players, certainly not. To prepare well you have to play as well as possible and win the next game."

Image source, Getty Images

Arsenal have dropped 16 points from winning positions this season – just one fewer than they had in the past two campaigns combined (eight in 2022-23, nine in 2023-24).

Were you at Emirates Stadium or following from elsewhere?

Have your say on Arsenal's performance

What did you make of Brentford's display?

Come back to this page on Monday to find a selection of your replies

I wanted Arsenal to try to push Liverpool in the title race but boss Mikel Arteta clearly knew something I did not, resting his players against Everton last weekend and then demolishing Real Madrid the way they did.

Arteta will make changes again here before Wednesday's second leg at the Bernabeu, and the fact it will not be the Gunners' strongest side makes this quite hard to predict.

Brentford are very capable but I have a feeling the Gunners will still have enough to win, even though they are prioritising Europe now.

Sutton's prediction: 2-1

Read the full predictions and have your say

Five matches make up Saturday's Premier League action and BBC Sport will bring you every kick.

• Manchester City v Crystal Palace (12:30)

• Brighton v Leicester City

• Nottingham Forest v Everton

• Southampton v Aston Villa

• Arsenal v Brentford (17:30)

Kick-off times 15:00 BST unless stated

Follow all of the action and reaction here

Image source, Getty Images

There are lots of different perspectives in terms of how you watch a game of football, and I think for the majority of time the people in the stadium get the best atmosphere, but the worst views of how a game has actually gone.

You don't really get the chance to see multiple replays and have discussions about things, because you just get caught up in the moment.

With the incoming semi automated offsides, they did promise it earlier in the season - but I think the caveat was they're only going to do it when it's ready.

It is a positive that they didn't do it when it wasn't ready.

One upside to to the new technology is some of the arguments disappear. Previously you could say 'but it looks like it's this to me' or 'it looks like it's that to me'. When it is presented now, there aren't many people that will then be looking at the animation, going back to the video, and then going down a proper conspiracy rabbit hole.

So, it ends more arguments, not all arguments, but more arguments.

I think people, as a consequence, will be more accepting of it.

But, I still do believe that there's things for people to understand, because it can't be used in every situation. There are certain decisions which can still be a little bit more complex, and there's certain times where human intervention will still need to be brought in.

I wouldn't say it's as clear as, say, goal line technology, but it's a step in the direction to where most people feel more comfortable accepting the outcome and the speed of it as well will be encouraged.

It's not to say that it's going to be instant. If you believe this is going to be perfect, and always extremely fast, ask yourself, why do you think that?

Unless somebody has told you that from PGMOL, then take it with a pinch of salt and you see how it goes.

I think it's something that many people have seen before so hopefully there will be fewer arguments.

But, because it's football, there'll always be something to argue about the end of the day.

Alex Howell
BBC Sport football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has said he loved that Declan Rice did not listen to instructions when he scored his two free-kicks against Real Madrid in their memorable Champions League victory on Tuesday.

Arsenal set-piece coach Nicolas Jover wanted Rice to cross the ball into the area but the England midfielder curled an effort around the wall to give the Gunners the lead.

"I love it, especially when it goes in the back of the net, instead of losing it on the counter attack!" Arteta said.

"They have to make the decision. We are here to help them, to paint the picture of what the options are, but I loved it.

"When we talk about taking the next step, it is a lot about that. Taking the initiative.

"Making things happen on the pitch and believing you can actually win the game by yourself sometimes. I was really impressed with the way he did it."

Alex Howell
BBC Sport football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Mikel Arteta has said that he is "very glad" Bukayo Saka says he wants to stay at Arsenal.

The 23-year-old made his first start since returning from injury in the 3-0 win over Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-final first leg and won both free kicks that Declan Rice scored from.

Saka enters the final two years of his contract this summer but said prior to the Madrid match that he "wants to win wearing this badge".

"So humble, so simple, very committed to the club, obviously has very deep roots connected to this football club and with a lot of other people here, so I'm very glad to hear that he wants to stay with us and win with us," Arteta said when asked about Saka's comments.

The winger, who caused Madrid defender David Alaba problems throughout Tuesday's 3-0 win, was taken off after 74 minutes and Arteta says it is another step as he works his way back to full fitness.

"He gives us a level of threat, connection and unpredictability that probably no other player at the moment can provide, especially with the connection that he's already built in and around the team," Arteta said.

"And he has the power to lift the stadium, which is something incredible, because shifting the energy in the stadium is something really difficult to do, and a player who is able to do that, that's a great addition, a great quality to have."

Nat Hayward
BBC Sport journalist

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game at home to Brentford (17:30 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Arteta said there has been "an unbelievable energy" around the club since the 3-0 win over Real Madrid on Tuesday: "Obviously it was a very special night. That's over and now the full focus is on Brentford because it is a game that will require the best of us."

• He confirmed Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka are "both fit" and "both available" after being substituted on Tuesday, while Riccardo Califiori is "progressing really well" and is "in a good place, but "giving a timeline is difficult".

• Arteta is "hopeful" Kai Havertz can return before the end of the season.

• On Saka's impact after his return from injury: "He gives us a level of threat, connection and unpredictability that no other player can provide. He has the power to lift the stadium, which is incredible because shifting the energy in a stadium is something that is really difficult to do and when a player is able to do that, that is a great quality to have."

• On Saka's future: "He is so humble, very committed to the club and has very deep roots connected to this football club. I am very glad to hear that he wants to stay with us and win with us."

• How many days off after the win over Madrid?: "Just one. I think they were very happy with that. We had a day off because it was the best way to recover and prepare."

• On opponents Brentford: "When you look at what they have done it is remarkable and a beautiful story. They are a club that we can learn a lot from because the way they did it is very clever and the way they maintained it is very impressive."

• On Thomas Frank: "More than respect, admiration. He's done it at a football club where everyone shares the vision. The way he has sustained and evolved with the model is really well timed in my opinion."

Follow all of Friday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

Listen to live commentary of Arsenal v Brentford on BBC Radio 5 Live from 17:30 on Saturday

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Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka knows how to "pick his moment in a genius way" while breakout star Ethan Nwaneri has "no fear", says former defender Ainsley Maitland-Niles.

A fellow Gunners academy graduate who is just four years older than Saka, Maitland-Niles saw the 23-year-old progress to becoming the key player he now is for Arsenal.

"I saw him coming through from when he was a little kid and he has really pushed on in the last four years," Maitland-Niles told BBC Sport.

"He has become one of the world's best wingers, very consistent, knows how to kill off a game and he can pick his moment in a genius way.

"I think [Arsenal] now rely on him a bit too much and you can't expect so much from such a young player. He hasn't even hit his prime yet. But, I think he is the driving force of the team and they miss a bit of attacking threat when he is not playing."

Maitland-Niles has become a key player to Ligue 1 side Lyon since joining in 2023, however, as a childhood Arsenal fan, he still watches the side today.

Like many, he has been impressed by winger Nwaneri who, after becoming the youngest player to represent the men's first team in September 2022 aged 15, has become a regular this campaign.

"Physically, he is absolutely incredible to watch. There is no fear in the kid," Maitland-Niles said.

"He is just going at people and trying to make things happen. You can see he is trying to become a leader very early in that team. He is trying to cement his place, which is difficult as he plays in the same positions as [Martin] Odegaard and Saka.

"He has the ability to do it, definitely, it is just whether he can keep his place when the big guns come back and are firing again.

"He has the world in front of him and he just needs to take it."

Read more from Maitland-Niles here