Brentford 1-1 Arsenal LIVE – League leaders held to a draw in west London

“Because with the way that they were pressing,” he answered. “I think we needed another kind of profile to generate many more problems for them around those areas.

“I think he [Odegaard] came on in the pitch really well, and the team went into another gear and more threat to arrive to the areas that we wanted to get into.”

“A really tough place to come, we knew that. Very difficult to dominate the game for long periods because they are very good.

“Anything can happen and something really bad can happen. You have to navigate through that.

“It is part of the game. Sometimes you don’t start that well and sometimes it is credit to the opposition as well.

“We have to do our job, we have to come to all these places same like the rest of the teams. We know how tough it is and you have to be at your best every game and you need the luck as well to get the three points.”

“The game was split into different halves,” Rice said. “It was their first 20 minutes, we ended the first half strong, we started the second half amazingly well and they ended the half better than us. We suffocated a lot after the goal.”

“In this journey you are never going to be at the level for 70 games of the season but you have to be at the best you can. The small details, the basics, like I say this is a rollercoaster of a season. You can’t be naïve to think this is going to be easy. We are playing against the best teams week in, week out. We have to keep pushing and believing in ourselves, controlling the controllable.

“We have to block out the outside noise. We have done that really well. People are going to talk up the title race and Arsenal but we have a really calm group. I’m not naïve to think Brentford are a pushover. They are one of the best teams in the league and their recent form shows that. It’s a point gained in our journey but we wanted to win the game.”

“Disappointed with just a point. We stick together. It’s a tough place to come but we just have to stick together and we are still in a great position and we go again.”

“It felt fine,” he explained. “We dominated most of the first half until they got momentum.

“We dealt with it very well and scored the goal in the second half. I thought that was going to be enough but they played dangerous on set pieces and we conceded. We had the chances to win the game but we didn’t maximise them.”

“We are still in a great position,” he said.  “We have to focus on ourselves.

“We have the FA Cup on Sunday but we go again on Wednesday.”

Only four point in it, and Arsenal still have to go to the Etihad before the end of the season.

We have a title race on our hands.

“A big point in the end,” he said.

“It could have gone either way at the end. End of the day, we deserve a point, and I’m happy.

“The squad we have got we can do special things. To play the top teams and take points from them is our aim all the time.

“The way he [Keith Andrews] speaks to us every single day, the way he holds meetings and training sessions. He speaks so highly of the players and staff around us. We have an unbelievable group. We can definitely do something special this season.”

Brentford were well worth their point today, and had many chances to win it.

Huge credit to Andrews.

It ends 1-1 at the Gtech, with both sides disappointed not to have taken all three points.

Igor Thiago and Martinelli both had huge chances to win it late on.

Arsenal’s lead at the top is just four points instead of six now.

This time it is Arsenal’s turn to have a huge chance.

Martinelli is one on one with Kelleher, but the Irishman smothers excellently.

Igor Thiago through on goal again, and this time he does get his shot away.

However, the strike goes well over Raya’s goal.

Five minutes to go, will we see a winner?

Igor Thiago has to win it there.

He is through on goal after he beats Mosquera, but as he looks too get his shot away, Mosquera gets back and makes a great tackle.

Ouattara felt he was being held back by Timber on the left and let the referee know. He received a booking for dissent.

Gabriel is very lucky to escape a second yellow card after he was very late in his challenge just outside the Arsenal box.

Martin Odegaard is being treated by the medical staff after that goal.

UPDATE: he is back on the pitch

The Brentford long throw leads to a goal again as Lewis-Potter makes no mistake this time as he latches onto the flick on to head home.

The goalscorer is off and replaced by Bukayo Saka, a straight swap on the right hand side.

Kayode saves Brentford.

Martin Odegaard drives into the box, finds Declan Rice who tries to find Viktor Gyokeres instead of shooting and Kayode gets back just in time to win the ball back.

Brentford have a corner and they really should be level.

The ball goes towards the back post and Lewis-Potter who wins the header unchallenged, but cannot direct the ball on target.

That goal has been coming.

Noni Madueke heads home to put Arsenal ahead. Piero Hincapie whips in a cross towards the winger, who rises highest and arrows a header into the far corner.

Beautiful play from Arsenal…. until the finish.

A lovely dummy from Trossard on the edge of the area allows the ball to roll perfectly to Odegaard who lines up a strike, but balloons the shot over.

In the first half Arsenal were very slow in possesion and struggled to break down Brentford, but they have been the complete opposite in the second.

They have had Brentford pinned into their own area on multiple occassions in the first ten minutes here.