Brentford manager Thomas Frank has heaped praise on Arsenal ahead of tomorrow's Premier League clash between the two sides on Saturday.
The Gunners defeated the Bees 3-0 in the reverse fixture back in September of last year, with William Saliba, Gabriel Jesus and Fabio Vieira all netting for Mikel Arteta's side, who currently sit top of the league table - five points clear of second-placed Manchester City. Now, Frank has claimed that centre-back Saliba is one of the major reasons for the north London outfit's recent upturn in form.
"I think it’s big credit to Arsenal", Frank said when asked how his upcoming opponents have turned things around so quickly. "I think maybe it was Saliba who came back this summer [from his loan with Marseille].
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"He was maybe the missing link. With Zinchenko and Jesus, I think that was three important players.
"With that, Martinelli, Saka and also Odegaard, even that he is a little bit more experienced. You know, they are a year older, one more year in that culture, that group, that style of play.
"And it is all just clicking. It is almost like Liverpool. I don’t know what position they finished before they became champions, but that season they became champions, wasn’t that the season where Van Dijk and Alisson came? More or less.
"So just two missing links and then 'boom!' that completed the jigsaw. That’s just perfect. Maybe it’s a little bit the same here."
Arsenal will be desperate to get back to winning ways on Saturday following last weekend's 1-0 loss to Everton. However, Brentford are no pushovers, avoiding defeat in each of their last nine league outings.
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