Arsenal have lost even more ground in the Premier League title race as they dropped points to Brentford.
Thomas Partey gave the Gunners a second-half lead, finishing off a lightning-quick counter attack with Declan Rice at the heart of things once again for Mikel Arteta’s side.
However, Yoane Wissa hooked in a crucial equaliser to score in back-to-back visits to the Emirates - a goal that would deny Arsenal all three points on the afternoon.
The result means Liverpool need just nine more points from six games to seal the Premier League title, which could be won against Arsenal’s fierce North London rivals Tottenham on April 27.
Follow all the Premier League action with our live blog below:
Arsenal vs Brentford LIVE
- Arsenal XI: Raya; Partey, Saliba, Kiwior, Tierney; Jorginho, Rice, Zinchenko; Nwaneri, Martinelli, Trossard.
- Brentford XI: Flekken; Ajer, Collins, Van den Berg; Lewis-Potter, Norgaard, Janelt, Damsgaard; Schade, Wissa, Mbuemo.
- 22' SAVE! Raya gets down to deny Ajer after a charging run [ARS 0-0 BRE]
- 27' GOAL DISALLOWED! Tierney header chalked off by semi-auto offsides [ARS 0-0 BRE]
- 35' CHANCE! Massive block by Ajer to deny Martinelli [ARS 0-0 BRE]
- 61' GOAL! Partey finishes off lightning counter made by Rice [ARS 1-0 BRE]
- 74' GOAL! Wissa hooks in crucial equaliser [ARS 1-1 BRE]
Arsenal FC 1 - 1 Brentford FC
Mikel Arteta furious that Norgaard wasn't sent off
20:20 , Will CastleMikel Arteta was frustrated that Christian Norgaard escaped red for a scissor tackle on Gabriel Martinelli.
Martinelli echoed this fury in his post-match interview, saying: “He could have broken my leg.”
Any heavy challenge was not going to be taken lightly by Arsenal ahead of the trip to Real Madrid.
Yoane Wissa feels he is in the form of his life
19:58 , Will Castle“Yes that's fair,” Wissa told Sky Sports. “I had a good conversation with Thomas [Frank] and he gave me a lot of love and confidence.
“After that it is taking steps forward with the guys and after one, two, three goals it just goes from there."
Arsenal held by Brentford to lose even more ground in the title points
19:40 , Will Castle
FULL-TIME! Arsenal 1-1 Brentford
19:26 , Will CastleArsenal suffer a hangover from their famous European night as they are held by Brentford.
Yoane Wissa cancelled out Thomas Partey’s second-half opener as the Gunners lost even more ground in the title race.
Liverpool have moved one step closer to the title.
Arsenal 1-1 Brentford
19:25 , Will Castle90+6 mins: CLOSE! It’s Saka again, who gets it onto his right foot and tries bending one into the far corner - just past the post.
That might just be that.
Arsenal 1-1 Brentford
19:23 , Will Castle90+4 mins: Saka dances across the entirety of the box before trying to drill one into the danger area.
His first delibery is blocked as he goes over - he gets up quickly and tries again, but only to the same outcome.
Odegaard is then booked for impeding the Brentford counter.
Arsenal 1-1 Brentford
19:21 , Will Castle90+2 mins: Saka gets in down the right and tries to fire one towards the penalty spot, cut out by a Brentford man.
Martinelli then has space on the left but takes too long with it and loses possession.
Arsenal 1-1 Brentford
19:20 , Will Castle90+1 mins: SIX minutes of added time.
Brentford are bringing off Norgaard for Gustavo Nunes, who makes his Premier League debut. He was signed in August but has been out the entire season so far with a back injury.
Great to see him finally get his moment.
Arsenal 1-1 Brentford
19:18 , Will Castle89 mins: Brentford had a break on there as Mbeumo found himself in space down the right.
It comes to Norgaard on the edge of the box who slips at the worse possible time.
Arsenal 1-1 Brentford
19:16 , Will Castle86 mins: Jorginho is down the tunnel - but after Merino came on 10 minutes earlier, Arsenal are out of substitutes.
They’ll stay a man down for the remainder of this contest.
Arsenal 1-1 Brentford
19:14 , Will Castle83 mins: Jorginho is on the deck and in some discomfort. He’s receiving treatment and with the game already a bit flat, this stoppage will not help Arsenal.
Arsenal 1-1 Brentford
19:12 , Will Castle81 mins: This will be a really good point for Brentford if they can see it out, but an even better result for Liverpool.
A reminder they’ll require just nine points from seven games if it stays like this.
Arsenal 1-1 Brentford
19:08 , Will Castle76 mins: CHANCE! Nearly an absolute disaster from Mark Flekken, who is off his line in no man’s land and gets caught by Bukayo Saka in the box.
The England man can’t make it count, though.
GOAL! Arsenal 1-1 Brentford
19:03 , Will Castle74 mins: GOAL! Wissa hooks in a MASSIVE equaliser at the Emirates!
A poacher’s finish from the Bees talisman, who pegs Arsenal back with 16 minutes to play.
Arsenal 1-0 Brentford
19:02 , Will Castle72 mins: A big opportunity wasted there as Mbeumo led a rare counter up the field.
He tries to pick out Schade, who is marked by two men - but Damsgaard was behind him in acres.
Instead, it’s intercepted and goes out for a corner.
Arsenal 1-0 Brentford
18:58 , Will Castle69 mins: Arsenal’s goalscorer Partey has picked up an injury and comes off for Jurrien Timber.
It’s Arsenal’s fourth change of the day - with Odegaard, Lewis-Skelly and Saka all entering the fray after the opener.
Kayode and Yarmoliuk are also on for Brentford.
Arsenal 1-0 Brentford
18:54 , Will Castle65 mins: Arsenal have their tails up and Brentford look a bit rattled.
The Emirates has got quite a lot louder in the last few minutes.
GOAL! Arsenal 1-0 Brentford
18:49 , Will Castle61 mins: GOAL! A lightning quick break-away and Arsenal have the lead!
It all starts with a Brentford corner, collected by Raya. The Spaniard then releases Rice whose first touch is exquisite, opening up the field and allowing him to charge with numbers in toe.
He gets to the edge of the Brentford box before slipping through Partey, who finishes with aplomb.
Arsenal 0-0 Brentford
18:48 , Will Castle58 mins: Arsenal have a free-kick and Declan Rice is standing over it...
It is out wide, however, and Rice will have to this time listen to Jover’s advice to cross.
He whips it into the box but his delivery is cleared by a Brentford head.
Arsenal 0-0 Brentford
18:44 , Will Castle55 mins: Martinelli dances into the box and beats two Brentford men to try and fashion that half-a-yard of space to let fly, but the Bees deal with it.
The Brazilian jumped over a couple trailing legs there and could have been in with a shout of a penalty if he went down. Refreshing to see his eyes were only at goal.
Arsenal 0-0 Brentford
18:42 , Will Castle53 mins: Arsenal called into defensive work as Ajer brings the ball down in the box, cleared by Rice.
Damsgaard then takes a short corner in front of the away fans, whipped in towards the back-post where Brentford shirts are queueing up, but Raya claims.
Arsenal 0-0 Brentford
18:39 , Will Castle50 mins: Arsenal have their eleventh corner of the game as Nwaneri whips it in - the ball doesn’t beat the first man and Brentford clear.
The Bees then try to break through Mbeumo but he is brought down by Jorginho. Maybe lucky not get booked.
BACK UNDERWAY! Arsenal 0-0 Brentford
18:34 , Will Castle46 mins: BACK UNDERWAY! Arsenal get things back underway.
As things stand, Liverpool will remain 10 points clear at the top of the table - and will need just nine more from seven games to seal the title.
HALF-TIME! Arsenal 0-0 Brentford
18:26 , Will CastleSemi-automated offsides doing its job in the first half. This is progress.
HALF-TIME! Arsenal 0-0 Brentford
18:24 , Will CastleNot exactly the fireworks we saw in midweek...
HALF-TIME! Arsenal 0-0 Brentford
18:18 , Will CastleGoalless at the break.
Arsenal thought they had the lead on 26 minutes as Tierney headed past Flekken, but semi-automated offsides came to Brentford’s rescue to chalk the Scot’s opener off.
Both keepers have been called into action but no breakthrough as of yet.
Arsenal 0-0 Brentford
18:17 , Will Castle44 mins: SAVE! Flekken called into action once again as Trossard dummies the shot and fires a low, powerful effort from range.
His shot very nearly annihilates an unsuspecting pigeon. Good reflexes from both the bird and the keeper.
Arsenal 0-0 Brentford
18:14 , Will Castle41 mins: Rice gets into the area and tries to drill one across the face of goal, Flekken gets down well to concede another corner.
Rice bends his corner towards goal and it requires a save from the Dutchman, who flaps it out for - you guessed it - a corner.
Arsenal go direct again with a flat delivery but it’s headed over.
Arsenal 0-0 Brentford
18:07 , Will Castle35 mins: CHANCE! Martinelli has one dinked into his path and lines up the half-volley just inside the box, but Ajer gets across brilliantly to put in a vital block.
That looked a certain goal if not for the big Norwegian.
Either way, Arsenal are finding their rhythm and would love to make it count before the break.
Arsenal 0-0 Brentford
18:05 , Will Castle34 mins: Kevin Schade picks up a caution for a challenge on the Achilles.
He joins Norgaard in the book, who received a yellow for a high challenge on Martinelli four minutes earlier.
Both drew the ire of Mikel Arteta.
Arsenal 0-0 Brentford
18:04 , Will Castle32 mins: Sixth corner of the game for Arsenal and they revert to the short method.
This time they do work it into the box as Nwaneri finds space, but his pull-back is cut out.
Shot from range looks to be going wide but Flekken doesn’t take the chance and tips it past the post - a seventh corner coming up.
GOAL DISALLOWED! Arsenal 0-0 Brentford
17:59 , Will Castle27 mins: GOAL DISALLOWED! And so it has.
Tierney heads in but after review, he is deemed offside.
That’s let the wind out of Arsenal’s sails.
GOAL! Arsenal 1-0 Brentford
17:57 , Will Castle26 mins: GOAL! His first start since May 2023, and Kieran Tierney has given Arsenal the lead!
Or so we think... semi-auto offsides might intervene.
Arsenal 0-0 Brentford
17:56 , Will Castle25 mins: Trio of dangerous corners into a jam-packed Brentford six-yard box, with Mark Flekken caged in and unable to come and claim it.
Arsenal 0-0 Brentford
17:53 , Will Castle22 mins: SAVE! Raya to the rescue against his former club!
Damsgaard switches it Mbeumo who plays Brentford centre-half Ajer in behind, who had the legs on Martinelli.
Ajer tries to slip it past Raya but the Spaniard gets down to produce the stop.
Arsenal 0-0 Brentford
17:51 , Will Castle20 mins: Ajer concedes a corner but Arsenal completely overthink the short option, never actually getting it into the box after ticking it about. A waste.
Arsenal 0-0 Brentford
17:49 , Will Castle17 mins: Jorginho slips one through the channel for Martinelli who was making a diagonal run, but the pass is cut out.
Martinelli looks to the linesman in what was a pretty idealistic appeal for a foul - never considered.
Arsenal 0-0 Brentford
17:46 , Will Castle14 mins: Brentford whip in a corner and Zinchenko dives down low to make a brave clearance.
Up the other end, Arsenal try and drive into the box but soundly dealt with.
Arsenal 0-0 Brentford
17:43 , Will Castle10 mins: CHANCE! Arsenal have burst into life after a slow start as Gabriel Martinelli is played behind the Brentford block and tries to dink it past Mark Flekken.
Good save by the Dutchman who concedes a corner. The set piece is taken short and while the eventual delivery is met by Partey, his header across goal is to no receivers.
Arsenal 0-0 Brentford
17:40 , Will Castle9 mins: First time Arsenal get into the Brentford box as Declan Rice takes it up before pulling it back to Nwaneri.
He tries to fire a shot goalwards but it’s well blocked.
Arsenal 0-0 Brentford
17:38 , Will Castle7 mins: Brentford beginning to ask questions of the Arsenal back-line as Schade gets in front of Rice to nick the ball outside the box.
It’s lofted in towards Norgaard who nods down but no-one can get a shot away. It goes out wide and a dangerous cross is whipped in, but headed away by an Arsenal head.
Arsenal 0-0 Brentford
17:35 , Will Castle4 mins: Brentford pressing high to start things off here as Arsenal struggle to get out of their half.
Free-kick just by the Bees and Raya is coming out to hoof it up the field.
KICK-OFF! Arsenal 0-0 Brentford
17:31 , Will Castle1 min: KICK-OFF! The Bees get us underway.
Closing in on kick-off at the Emirates
17:20 , Will CastleJust 10 minutes until we get underway in North London.
Arsenal will want to do all they possibly can to put pressure on Liverpool at the top of the Premier League pile, even if the gap seems insurmountable.
But beyond domestic competitions, today will be all about keeping momentum high going into next week’s Champions League quarter-final second leg against Real Madrid.
We’ve got play-by-play updates for you, right here.
Fans arriving and pre-match preparations underway
17:10 , Will Castle
Declan Rice: Arsenal's new free-kick maestro?
17:00 , Will CastleDeclan Rice had not scored a direct free-kick in his 338 career games before Tuesday’s visit of Real Madrid. He then hit two stunners in the space of 12 minutes.
It’ll be interesting to see whether Mikel Arteta sticks him on any and all free-kicks for the foreseeable future.
The three words that inspired Arsenal’s greatest Champions League night
16:46 , Will CastleIf the “magic moments”, as Mikel Arteta put it, didn’t make it clear, two images revealed the scale of Arsenal’s 3-0 victory over Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-finals. One was the scene in the dressing room, where staff congratulating the players could barely be heard over the noise. It was raucous.
When Declan Rice came in with his man-of-the-match award, he was laughing about how Nicolas Jover told him to cross his first free kick. A few yards away, Carlo Ancelotti could barely be heard for very different reasons. The Real Madrid manager’s voice was unusually low for his post-match press conference, which didn’t last long. Ancelotti has rarely been so subdued.
That was ultimately because of another message relayed by Arteta, that was heard loud and clear.
The three words that inspired Arsenal’s greatest Champions League night
Heavy rotation from Arteta, as expected
16:30 , Will CastleFive changes to the Arsenal side that thrashed Real Madrid on Tuesday.
One of those is Kieran Tierney, who comes into the side to start his first game for the Gunners since May 2023. He is joined by Oleksandr Zinchenko, Leandro Trossard, Jorginho and Ethan Nwaneri.
The five to miss out from the midweek team are Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, Jurrien Timber, Mikel Merino and Myles Lewis-Skelly - all are among the substitutes.
Declan Rice retains his place in the side following his midweek free-kick masterclass.
Line-ups CONFIRMED!
16:22 , Will CastleArsenal XI: Raya; Partey, Saliba, Kiwior, Tierney; Jorginho, Rice, Zinchenko; Nwaneri, Martinelli, Trossard.
Brentford XI: Flekken; Ajer, Collins, Van den Berg; Lewis-Potter, Norgaard, Janelt, Damsgaard; Schade, Wissa, Mbuemo.
Tottenham appoint former Arsenal chief Vinai Venkatesham as new CEO
16:15 , Harry Latham-CoyleArsenal have fallen victim to a “reverse Sol Campbell”...
Tottenham Hotspur have appointed Vinai Venkatesham, who formerly occupied the same role at Arsenal, as their new chief executive.
Venkatesham stepped down as chief executive at Arsenal last summer after working his way up the club’s hierarchy, having initially joined in 2010.
The executive spent four years in the top role at the Emirates Stadium in a period in which Mikel Arteta transformed the club’s on-field fortunes amid significant investment.
Tottenham appoint former Arsenal chief Vinai Venkatesham as new CEO
Mikel Arteta details quality that makes Bukayo Saka irreplaceable for Arsenal
16:00 , Harry Latham-CoyleMikel Arteta says winger Bukayo Saka offers Arsenal something "no other player can provide".
The England international won both free-kicks which Declan Rice converted in the Gunners' 3-0 Champions League dismantling of Real Madrid on Tuesday night.
The Hale End academy product, who was playing his third match after returning from a hamstring injury which kept him out since December, was substituted at the Emirates but will be available for Saturday's Premier League clash against Brentford, according to head coach Arteta.
"He's very important, he gives us a level of threat, connection and unpredictability that at the moment no other player can provide us," Arteta told reporters on Friday.
Mikel Arteta details quality that makes Bukayo Saka irreplaceable for Arsenal
Odds for the clash
15:45 , Will CastleArsenal win 4/7
Draw 12/5
Brentford win 4/1
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Predicted line-ups
15:30 , Will CastleArsenal XI: Raya; White, Saliba, Kiwior, Tierney; Odegaard, Jorginho, Merino; Nwaneri, Trossard, Sterling.
Brentford XI: Flekken; Ajer, Collins, Van den Berg, Lewis-Potter; Norgaard, Yarmolyuk; Mbeumo, Damsgaard, Schade; Wissa.
Brentford team news
15:15 , Will CastleRico Henry was back in the Brentford matchday squad for their last fixture against Chelsea, a welcome return from a long-term injury. He could be in contention to feature in North London.
Fabio Carvalho, Joshua Dasilva, Igor Thiago, Aaron Hickey and Gustavo Nunes remain out.
Arsenal team news
15:00 , Will CastleArsenal may well freshen up their side after an emotionally and physically draining night against Real Madrid, with hopes of a title triumph all but gone despite a slip up for Liverpool last weekend.
Leandro Trossard, Ethan Nwaneri and Ben White are perhaps among those in line for starts.
Is Arsenal vs Brentford on TV? Kick-off time, channel and how to watch
14:45 , Will CastleArsenal vs Brentford is due to kick off at 5.30pm BST on Saturday 12 April at the Emirates Stadium.
How can I watch it?
Viewers in the United Kingdom can watch the match live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League, with coverage on the channels from 5pm BST. Subscribers can stream the action via Sky Go.
Arsenal vs Brentford LIVE
14:30 , Will CastleGood afternoon and welcome to The Independent’s live coverage of today’s Premier League clash between Arsenal and Brentford.
Arsenal will hope to continue the positive vibes brought by a famous Champions League night as they strive to keep momentum going into their second leg against Real Madrid next week.
Brentford, meanwhile, are one of a congested crop of teams battling to get back into the top half and looking to perhaps force their way into the chase for European places.
All the build-up, right here.
