Arsenal vs Brentford: 3 key tactical areas to exploit

2. Brentford’s Wastefulness in the Final Third

There is a serious lack of cutting edge in this Brentford team, with the exclusion of the opening day of the season, of course.

Toney drops so deep that his influence is most often found threading passes through onto his fellow forwards, Yoane Wissa has popped up with some clutch moments but hasn’t found consistency, while Bryan Mbeumo’s finishing often leaves a lot to be desired.

Not just wasteful with their chances, the Bees are also lacking that final bit of quality to set up the ideal chance. It’s hoped that Christian Eriksen can address that, but he will need time to help solve their dreadful passing accuracy of just 61% in the opposition half. As per Orbinho, that’s the lowest in the division since Cardiff’s 58% in 2018/19.

Whether it be the final pass or a touch of invention in key moments, their progressive attacking play is among the bluntest in the division. They like to vary their game and also seek men in behind vertically, but when they do get men forward they can be susceptible to the transitions.

Interestingly, only Leeds have conceded more goals from counter-attacks (5) than Brentford (4), while no team has scored more goals in such fashion this season than Arsenal (5).

There is some ambiguity on what is considered as a counter-attack as different sources have different classifications, but it is clear that Brentford’s lack of pace centrally and in defence is a weakness when they transition into defence, while Arsenal have outstanding counter-attacking talent in Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe.

A winning combination? Perhaps.

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