February 13, (THEWILL) — Brentford earned a well-deserved point against Arsenal on Thursday, holding the league leaders to a 1-1 draw at the Gtech Community Stadium.
The result reduced Mikel Arteta’s advantage at the summit to four points following Manchester City’s 3-0 victory over Fulham the previous evening.
The hosts created better opportunities in the first half, with David Raya forced into an excellent stop from Igor Thiago’s header before the interval.
William Saliba’s absence through illness left the visitors vulnerable defensively during an opening period in which they failed to register a shot on target.
Arsenal improved after Martin Odegaard replaced Eberechi Eze early in the second half.
Noni Madueke then opened the scoring with a header from Piero Hincapie’s cross just after the hour mark, converting the away side’s first attempt on goal.
Keane Lewis-Potter restored parity 10 minutes later, meeting a Michael Kayode long throw that Sepp van den Berg had flicked on.
Both Igor Thiago and Gabriel Martinelli came close to snatching victory late on, but neither could find a winner in an absorbing finish.
The draw leaves Arteta’s team just four points clear at the top, having failed to capitalise on their opportunity to extend their lead.
Brentford will feel satisfied with their performance against opponents who rarely delivered their usual quality.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
