Brentford 2-0 Arsenal: Three Things We Learned

The new Premier League season got underway on Friday night as newcomers Brentford played their first game in the competition against Arsenal. It was always expected to be a pretty tense affair with a few lively moments thrown in here or there, and that really did seem to be how things played out.

Brentford scored either side of half time to record one of their biggest ever victories, and while some felt as if it was one of the surprises of the weekend, others suggested they could see this coming from a mile away with the Gunners.

New boys strike gold

The crowd at the Brentford Community Stadium was great, the first team was fairly dominant and composed throughout, and the entire evening will be fondly remembered by these fans for many years to come. If that doesn’t suffice as a great day at the office then we’re not so sure what does because the Bees had the equivalent of a memorable cup tie on the biggest stage of them all. Now, the aim will be to generate that kind of energy and excitement for their remaining 37 games.

Toney impresses

Ivan Toney may not have been at the heart of the goals but in this instance, he didn’t need to be in order to make a sufficient impact. From his work rate to a really strong presence up top he was one of the most intriguing pieces of the puzzle for Brentford and we’re expecting that trend to continue long into the rest of the campaign. Of course, he also needs to get amongst the goals given his reputation for doing so, but this is the kind of benchmark he needed to set given how much speculation there was over what he’d be able to achieve at this level.

Arsenal get bullied

Arsenal Football Club are in trouble and we really don’t think the returns of Aubameyang and Lacazette will make all too much of a difference to that fact. They were well and truly bullied off of the ball from the first minute until the very last with Brentford commanding the attention of their defenders whenever they progressed into the final third. Everyone knows that the Gunners have had some major issues to deal with in years gone by, but if Mikel Arteta can’t address these problems before Christmas, an early sacking almost seems inevitable for the former Arsenal player.