Mikel Arteta said he was left praying Arsenal would not suffer a late defeat after his players missed the chance to restore their six-point cushion over Manchester City following a 1-1 draw at Brentford.
Arsenal appeared on course to take a crucial victory when Noni Madueke headed home in the 61st minute. However, Brentford bounced back just 10 minutes later after Keane Lewis-Potter struck from Michael Kayode’s long throw.
Cristhian Mosquera stopped Igor Thiago scoring in stoppage time with a fine sliding tackle, before Brentford’s top scorer then blazed over when clean through on David Raya’s goal.
However, Gabriel Martinelli might have won it for Arsenal, only to be denied by Caoimhin Kelleher in a frantic end to the match.
Brentford were a constant threat from both corners and long throws, and Arteta said: “We scored the goal and the game was under total control.
“But against them, that’s not enough because they just need somebody making a foul that is unnecessary, a ball in the channel, they push you, the clearance is not good, a throw-in, and then you have to pray because they are exceptional at what they do.
“The chaos that is in, and around that ball is very, very difficult to defend. We said to the players: ‘If you want to win here, you’re going to have to defend the box with your life’. We didn’t do that on one of the actions, but they deserve credit, too.”
Just four days ago at Liverpool, Pep Guardiola’s City were six minutes away from falling nine points behind their rivals, but they are now within striking range.
And Arsenal, runners-up for the past three seasons, will still have to visit the Etihad Stadium in April.
Asked if he is concerned the title momentum is shifting towards City, Arteta said: “I understand (the question) but that’s an if, if, if, and if we would have lost to Newcastle, we were eight points behind Liverpool in October.
“There are a lot of ifs for 10 months in this competition, and you can only focus on what you have to do and try to do that in the best possible way.”
Pressed on whether his team were under greater pressure having played a day after City cruised to a 3-0 win over Fulham, Arteta added: “I don’t think so. We played after them a few times this season, and we have won. Today was not about that.”
Arsenal could count themselves fortunate not to play the closing eight minutes with 10 men after Gabriel avoided a second caution for a late tackle on Dango Ouattara.
Brentford boss Keith Andrews said: “I thought it was a second yellow. And it was in the 82nd minute, so it would have made a bit of difference, that’s for sure.
“It was a performance that was filled with grit, personality, character, ability, and bravery. We were a constant threat, and we played with a real determination to get the three points. And it is fair to say that in the latter stages we were the team that looked the more likely.”
