Brentford 1-1 Arsenal: Gunners miss chance to restore title lead after pulsating draw

Arsenal missed out on the opportunity to restore their six-point lead at the top of the Premier League table as they were held to a pulsating 1-1 draw away at Brentford.

Noni Madueke’s looping, second-half header looked to have put Arsenal on course for victory after a disappointing first-half display that offered up few chances for either side.

But Brentford hit back with a header of their own just ten minutes later when Michael Kayode saw his trademark long throw-in flicked on by Sepp van den Berg, and then headed home by Keane Lewis-Potter to draw the Bees level.

It was no less than the hosts deserved, and Keith Andrews might perhaps think his side should have gone on and won the game in a chaotic and frenzied period of stoppage time.

Igor Thiago, scorer of 17 league goals already this season, was presented with the two openings, but took too long with the first, allowing Cristhian Mosquera to recover and block, before blazing over the bar with the second.

And there was still time for Arsenal to almost win it at the death, but for Caoimhin Kelleher, who spread himself superbly to deny Gabriel Martinelli from close range.

A point sees Brentford close the gap on the top four to just five points, while Arsenal now sit just four points ahead of Manchester City in second.

Relive all the action from Thursday’s entertaining draw with Metro’s matchday blog below: