FA Premier League
ARSENAL 1 (Partey 61)
BRENTFORD 1 (Wissa 74)

THIS result was predictable from the moment Arsenal had driven through to the Champions League quarter-finals, a tame London derby splitting the Gunners’ two dates with Real Madrid.

That wasn’t to say the Gunners didn’t try to beat the perennial tricky challenge of Brentford, so much so that there were supporters wondering why so many of Mikel Arteta’s headliners spent so long on the turf.

Declan Rice, the man who has given Arsenal their big chance in the Bernabeu this week, was asked to commit to more than more than an hour, and in doing so found himself instrumental in putting Arsenal ahead just after the 60 minute mark.

David Raya had confidently claimed a corner and sparked a speedy counterfire by finding Rice bursting forward. He eventually slipped the ball to Thomas Partey who battered his shot past Mark Flekken in the visitors’ goal.

Instead of hauling off the players who will certainly be required to perform in Spain if Arsenal are going to make the most of their 3-0 first leg advantage over Real, Arteta put more of them on the field.

Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and Jurrien Timber were all pushed into the action,

Fortunately, Operation: Nobody Get Injured was largely ticked off at the end of 96 minuites of play, although Partey had clearly taken a bash before he was substituted.

But the task of winning the match was not.

Sloppy defending from several players in red and white shirts allowed the always alert Yoane Wissa to turn in a shot from close range with a quarter of an hour left.

The general impression was that if Arsenal still had a meaningful opportunity to claw back Liverpool in the long-lost title race, then maybe they would have hustled for three points this afternoon (Saturday).

Saka was almost gifted a winner after pickpocketing Flekken, but he dithered as the goal opened up. Gabriel Martinelli was haphazard with his finishing when chances came his way, while Leandro Trossard’s powerful shots did not have enough placement to cause a real problem.

Earlier, Kieran Tierney had a net-finding header ruled out by the video referee system after straying offisde. It was a shame for the full back whose chances in the first team have been limited, despite his strengths on display today.

But in the end, Real Madrid and their galacticos was too big of a distraction.

The stadium was like a nightclub’s chillout room after the rave witnessed in the same building on Tuesday. There was no getting away from the fact that everybody was thinking about how the Gunners will withstand the super threat of Mbappe and co in 96 hours time.

Refusing to use the distraction of the Champions League as an excuse, Arteta said: “I think we have to be critical with ourselves, especially the way we conceded the goal.

“Against Brentford, you know what they have. You have a free-kick, the goalie is going to put it there. From there, try to get a throw in, from there, they try to get a corner, and then once you clear the ball, it’s a second ball game, and that second ball game, we can’t defend the space close to the taker well enough and then it’s a lottery, because they do that really well and it’s our fault.”

ARSENAL: Raya, Partey (Timber 69), Tierney (Lewis-Skelly 62), Saliba, Kiwior, Jorginho, Rice (Merino 75), Zinchenko (Odegaard 62), Martinelli, Nwaneri (Saka 62), Trossard
SUBS NOT USED: Butler-Oyedeji, Henry-Francis,  Neto,  Sterling

BRENTFORD: Flekken, Ajer (Kayode 69), Lewis-Potter, van den Berg, Collins, Norgaard (Gustavo Neves 90+1), Janelt (Yarmolyuk 69), Damsgaard (Jensen 80), Schade, Mbeumo, Wissa
SUBS NOT USED:  Henry, Konak, Mee, Pinnock, Valdimarrson