Arsenal held by Brentford as title hopes fade

Agency :

Arsenal’s Premier League title hopes were effectively extinguished as a late equaliser from Yoane Wissa earned Brentford a 1-1 draw at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday.

Mikel Arteta’s side were on a high after their stunning 3-0 win over Champions League holders Real Madrid in the quarter-final first leg in north London Tuesday.

But the second-placed Gunners were unable to use the momentum from that remarkable victory to put pressure on Premier League leaders Liverpool.

Although Thomas Partey gave Arsenal the lead in the second half, Wissa’s leveller left them 10 points behind Liverpool, who host West Ham United in their game in hand Sunday.

Liverpool need just nine points from their last seven games to be crowned English champions for a record-equalling 20th time and first since 2020.

Arsenal are destined to finish as runners-up in the title race for a third successive season, but their focus was already firmly fixed on winning the Champions League for the first time.

With that in mind, Arteta made five changes ahead of Wednesday’s second leg in Madrid as Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, Jurrien Timber, Mikel Merino and Myles Lewis-Skelly were all rested.

Gabriel Martinelli threatened in the early moments, but Brentford goalkeeper Mark Flekken was equal to his strike.