Arsenal were held to a 1-1 draw with Brentford at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday as they squandered the chance to go eight points clear at the top of the Premier League.
Leandro Trossard's first goal since his £21million move from Brighton looked as though it would be enough to return the Gunners to winning ways after two straight defeats. However, Ivan Toney was in the right place at the right time eight minutes later to continue Brentford's astounding unbeaten run in the league to 10 games.
The draw presents Manchester City with the chance to cut the gap between themselves and Mikel Arteta's side when they face Aston Villa on Sunday. Pep Guardiola's men will be searching for a valuable victory ahead of Wednesday's highly-anticipated clash with Arsenal.
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Should City defeat Villa and overcome the Gunners in north London, Arsenal will lose their place at the top of the league for the first time since August.
Following the draw with Thomas Frank's side, former Arsenal striker Paul Merson has questioned Aaron Ramsdale's role in Toney's equaliser. The Sky Sports pundit claimed the England goalkeeper should have done better to prevent the opportunity arising.
"A cross comes in, it's a long free-kick. They keep it in the box, Toney's at the far post, he hits it back in. It keeps on going, it's like a little bit of a scramble," he said on Sky Sports News.
“Then all of a sudden – yeah, he’s onside – ‘keeper comes out, should get there, doesn’t get there. But if you come and don’t get it, that’s it. He comes, don’t get it. It flicks into the far post and there’s Toney [with an] empty goal just to head it in. He couldn’t miss.”
Merson's verdict on the goalkeeper was seconded by Martin Keown on BBC Sport. The ex-Arsenal defender was critical of the 24-year-old's decision-making in the lead up to Toney's free header. "Credit to Brentford. Many look at VAR, it looked to me like it was offside but in the end they did give it," he said.
“Ramsdale in the build-up was drawn away out of the box and he comes rushing out. Empty goal and it was a tap in for Toney.”
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