Brentford and Arsenal draw 1-1
A solid defensive performance for the Bees. Both goals came from the second phase of play after Bees corners, with Arsenal scoring on the counter and Yoane Wissa completing a nice team goal from the six yard box.
Let's check the pre-game Correlation FC prediction:
Prediction
Rico Henry will start at left back for the Bees which will allow Keane Lewis-Potter to move forward and start his first Premier League game of the season at left wing.
Wrong. Henry was on the bench, but didn't play in the game. KLP played the whole game at left back.
Trends that continued
Strength away from home
Brentford's results away from home in 2025 have continued to be very solid. The draw against Arsenal brings their record to 5 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss in 2025. They've outscored their opposition 15-5 over that stretch.
One (tactical) change, please
The Bees continued to be at their best when Thomas Frank makes a single change to the starting lineup. Today's change was Vitaly Janelt for Yehor Yarmoliuk. When Frank makes a single change, the Bees have a record of 6 wins and 5 draws across 14 games.
Brentford results based on number of lineup changes per Premier League game (source Correlation FC)
| Number of starting lineup changes | Games | Wins | Draws | Losses | Points per game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1.60 |
| 1 | 14 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 1.64 |
| 2 | 12 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 1.08 |
| 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.00 |
What was different
Nunes gets his first Premier League minutes
Gustavo Nunes played his first Premier League minutes for the Bees, subbing in for Christian Norgaard in the 91st minute. He managed a few touches and fared well with tough defensive assignments against Bukayo Saka and William Saliba.
Long throws from the defensive end
Brentford has used long throws as an offensive set piece weapon for years. This season alone, the Bees have scored four goals from throw ins. However, against Arsenal, Michael Kayode used his impressive long throws from deep in the defensive end to push the Bees forward to midfield. While the Bees have used several different long throwers on the team this season (Ethan Pinnock, Mathias Jensen, Kevin Schade and Norgaard), Kayode appears to have the longest throw and is the first to be deployed in this way to move from defence to attack.
Michael Kayode's long defensive throws vs Arsenal (source Correlation FC)
The long throws don't guarantee success, but it is an interesting option, a quick way to get out of danger, and could pair well with the team's great speed on the wings.
A point after going down on the road
This was the first time this season that the Bees have fought their way back to earn a draw after the opposition has scored first away from home. Before this, they had lost 4 and won 1 (against Bournemouth) after conceding the first goal on the road.
This story was published on 16 April 2025. It was written by Dennis Flood. The image at the top of this story was generated using AI.
