Declan Rice has been reflecting on Arsenal’s thrilling 1-1 draw at Brentford which saw them drop two vital points in the Premier League title race
Declan Rice feels Brentford are one of the best sides in the Premier League
Arsenal dropped two precious points in the Premier League title race following Thursday night’s pulsating 1-1 draw at Brentford.
Declan Rice has piled praise on the quality of Brentford following Arsenal’s frustrating draw at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Keith Andrews’ high-flying Bees forced their way back into the contest via Keane Lewis-Potter’s equaliser after Noni Madueke had put the Gunners ahead.
Yet Brentford pushed hard for victory and could quite easily have won it – even though Caoimhin Kelleher was forced into a top late stop to deny Gabriel Martinelli in stoppage time.
Post-match, Rice wasn’t afraid to admit that he believes the Bees are one of the best teams in the Premier League.
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He told the BBC: “We have to block out the outside noise. We have done that really well. People are going to talk up the title race and Arsenal but we have a really calm group.
“I’m not naive to think Brentford are a pushover. They are one of the best teams in the league and their recent form shows that. It’s a point gained in our journey but we wanted to win the game.”
Mikel Arteta also made it clear just how difficult it was to play against Brentford, who proved a tough nut to crack.
The Spaniard said: “They are one of the best historically in the league [from set-pieces] and they have developed this year with the long throw. It is a real threat and difficult to defend.
“We were giving free-kicks away you cannot do. We should have had more composure to play through them. We wanted to win so we feel like we dropped two points. They are very difficult. We keep going.”
Mikel Arteta praised Brentford’s set-piece threat against Arsenal(Image: AFP)
Michael Kayode’s long-throw has proven to be a weapon of mass destruction this season. The Italian was the architect of Brentford’s equaliser, though Sepp van den Berg also got a crucial flick on Kayode’s cross before Lewis-Potter headed home.
Arsenal struggled to create against the Bees’ resolute backline and they have also been left sweating on the fitness of captain Martin Odegaard, who picked up a knee issue trying to keep out the equaliser.
The Norwegian limped through the mixed zone after the game and will now be assessed ahead of Arsenal’s FA Cup fourth-round clash against Wigan Athletic.
The Gunners travel to Wolves in Premier League action next week while Manchester City host Salford and then Newcastle.
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