"It was another stolid effort from Mikel Arteta's side. They made an enterprising start, delighting the Emirates Stadium when a lovely move ended with Merino's second goal in four days, but they could not maintain their flow and were leaning on their resilience when Cristhian Mosquera increased their defensive issues by limping off before half-time. The loss of Mosquera could be significant."
"Arsenal coped against Brentford, the unfamiliar partnership of Jurrien Timber and Piero Hincapie holding out, but it will be different at Villa Park on Saturday. A resurgent Aston Villa will fancy their chances given that Arsenal are already without Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba. Although Arteta does not have a reputation for tinkering, part of his focus has to be on keeping energy levels high in this slog of a season."
"There is nothing to gain from overplaying key assets and the benefit of freshening things up was evident during a start in which Arsenal did not appear to be carrying any extra weight after the physical and mental toll of facing Tottenham, Bayern Munich and Chelsea in the space of a week. This is why Arteta invested so much in bolstering his resources last summer."
Arsenal preserved a five-point Premier League lead by beating Brentford 2-0 with an early Mikel Merino header and a late Bukayo Saka goal. The team secured their eighth clean sheet despite losing a centre-back to injury, with Jurrien Timber and Piero Hincapie forming an unfamiliar but effective partnership. Cristhian Mosquera's half-time withdrawal exacerbated defensive concerns ahead of a difficult trip to Aston Villa, given Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba are already absent. Mikel Arteta rotated his squad to protect players after a congested schedule, introducing Martin degaard and resting Eberechi Eze, which preserved energy and sustained performance.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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