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Beesotted contributor Jacob ‘The Gowler’ Gowler (@BeesBreakdown) gives us the tactical and statistical lowdown of Brentford’s loss against Arsenal.

Thomas Frank chose a 4-4-2 to face a talented Arsenal side. The Bees lined up Roerslev, van den Berg, Collins, and Lewis-Potter on the backline. Brentford’s midfield consisted of Nørgaard and Janelt in a double pivot, with Yarmolyuk and Damsgaard moving ahead of them in-possession to form a box midfield. Out-of-possession, Yarmolyuk and Damsgaard then moved wide to slide into a 4-4-2. The front two, Mbeumo and Wissa, looked to get behind Arsenal’s defence. Mark Flekken, injured in the previous match, fit enough to start against the Gunners, while Jensen waited for his opportunity from the bench.

Mikel Arteta stuck with a 4-3-3 to face the Bees. Calafiori, Gabriel, Saliba, and Timber the back four. Merino, Partey, and Ødegaard deployed as the midfield trio. Arteta chose Martinelli, Jesus and Nwaneri as the front three, with Trossard ready off the bench. Declan Rice notably on the bench also waited to make an impact.

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Arsenal dominated most statistics in this match, ending with 1.91 xG but having 3.16 expected goals on target. The Bees ended with .32 xG although they held 50% possession. Still, Brentford opened this match dominating much of the run of play, but could not sustain this.

Initially Brentford surprised arsenal with a 4-4-2 and then shifted into a 4-2-2-2 with Yarmolyuk and Damsgaard getting forward to form a box midfield. This compact shape allowed for the Bees to easily press high and win the ball back high up the pitch.

Arsenal adjusted and sent the ball out wide to stretch Brentford’s width. This led to Arsenal easily progressing the ball and forcing Brentford into their low block.

Arsenal excelled on set plays and scored their 9th goal from corner kicks in the Premier League this season. They boxed in Flekken and prevented him from being able to get a clean punch on the corner kick, which led to their second goal.