Frustrating stat highlights how Brentford copied Porto blueprint against Arsenal

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Arsenal dug deep to secure victory over Brentford at the Emirates to move to the top of the Premier League, in what was a tough game.

Declan Rice gave Arsenal the lead in the first half, but Aaron Ramsdale’s mistake meant Brentford equalised on the stroke of half-time.

Arsenal then pushed for a winner, but were frustrated by Brentford’s constant time-wasting and fouling, which kept disrupting the momentum of the match.

It was somewhat reminiscent of Arsenal’s defeat in Porto in the Champions League last month. The Portuguese giants committed a record 22 fouls in the game, and restricted Arsenal through their style of play such that Mikel Arteta’s side did not have a shot on target.

Kai Havertz did find a winner this time, and with the second leg against Porto coming up, this was perhaps good practice for Arsenal ahead of what might be a similar game.

Brentford tactics against Arsenal reminiscent of Porto defeat

Journalist Sam Dean has now highlighted that the ball was in play for less than 50% of Saturday’s match against Brentford, given their constant time-wasting when they were holding on for a draw.

“The ball was in play for less than 50% of tonight’s match between Arsenal and Brentford. Total time: 105:01 Time in play: 49:26,” he posted on X.

In the defeat to Porto, the ball was in play for just 50 minutes, and their manager Sergio Conceicao was defiant that his team had played in the best way to gain a positive result.

Brentford victory was good practice for Arsenal ahead of Porto

Recent victories for Arsenal saw Mikel Arteta’s side open up teams with ease and demolish them within the first 20 minutes of the match.

Porto are likely to sit deep to protect their 1-0 lead, and will aim to employ similar tactics to those used in the first leg.

There will be a lot of pressure on Arsenal unless they score early, and the game against Brentford may give them confidence that they will be able to break down the deep block on Tuesday, whilst also navigating their way around frustrating refereeing over their obvious time-wasting and bullying tactics.

Tearing apart a weakened Sheffield United team was a far cry from the performance in Porto, but the victory over Brentford could give Arteta and his players a better idea of what to expect in the Champions League.