Piero Hincapie was one of Arsenal’s most impressive players against Brentford, but his performance only showed how much the Gunners are lacking in attack.
When all Arsenal needed to do was win, Mikel Arteta watched his side drop two vital points in the Premier League title race.
Manchester City will be licking their lips after narrowing the gap to four points, particularly as the gap could have been nine less than a week ago.
It was certainly a frustrating night for Arsenal, but it wasn’t all doom and gloom, and Piero Hincapie was one source of light.
Name Arsenal’s most disappointing player vs Brentford but you can’t say Eberechi Eze
Piero Hincapie was so good against Brentford
FotMob ranked Hincapie as the best player on the pitch based on his match statistics.
The Ecuadorian started ahead of Riccardo Calafiori at left-back, and showed what he can offer, putting on a defensive masterclass and proving to be Arsenal’s creative spark.
On social media, fans didn’t let Hincapie’s performance go overlooked, with plenty of positive feedback pouring in on X.
“Hincapie motm performance,” one X user posted.
Another agreed by dubbing the summer loan signing’s display as ‘marvellous’.
If Piero Hincapie wasn’t Arsenal’s Man of the Match against Brentford, who was?
Really impressive 🇪🇨
One Arsenal fan went as far as to say, “This is the best Piero Hincapie performance I’ve seen so far. He’s been our best player.”
The supporters weren’t wrong, as Hincapie was very busy on the left side, with his most notable contribution coming in the 61st minute, when he assisted Noni Madueke’s headed goal.
On X, so many Arsenal fans applauded the Bayer Leverkusen loanee’s cross to find Madueke in the box.
“Hincapie at left back just makes sense what a cross,” one said.
A fellow fan shared a similar take, “Hincapie today, time after time great deliveries today.”
“Incredible cross from Hincapie. Been threatening to do that all game. He has quietly been incredible these past few weeks,” another posted.
Hincapie’s brilliance also uncovered a problem for Arsenal
The positive responses to Hincapie’s performance were justified, but perhaps the most standout piece of feedback came when the defender’s display was recognised as outperforming his attacking teammates.
“Hincapie has been our best attacking outlet today. A great assist,” one Arsenal fan posted.
What is your response to people who say ‘Arsenal are boring’?
Are Arsenal really boring?
It was alarming, as with players such as Viktor Gyokeres, Eberechi Eze and Leandro Trossard on the pitch, it was the left-back who excited fans the most when going forward.
Arteta has a clear problem in attack, and against Brentford wasn’t the first time that was on show.
The Arsenal manager has some serious tweaks to make to get his forwards performing again to avoid another instance in which a defender is the best creative outlet.
Receive a digest of our best Arsenal content each week direct to your mailbox
