Arsenal answer Arteta's call as Brentford's woes continue

Matt Gault, BBC Sport

For Brentford, that memorable defeat of Arsenal in August must seem like a distant memory.

Defeat at Emirates Stadium extends their winless run to seven games, and while Thomas Frank praised his side's defensive endeavours he admitted they were lacking at the other end of the pitch.

In truth, they barely laid a glove on Arsenal and never looked capable of securing a remarkable league double over Mikel Arteta's side.

The Dane is unlikely to be panicking just yet, though.

His team sit 14th and, while each of the six teams below them have games in hand, Frank will be hopeful of picking up much-needed points with Newcastle (17th), Norwich (20th) and Burnley (19th) to come in their next three.

With just two shots on target, Brentford clearly missed top scorer Ivan Toney, who has not been available for the past three games because of injury.

They are also yet to introduce Christian Eriksen following his January arrival, although expectations around the Danish playmaker will have to be tempered considering he hasn't played since collapsing on the pitch at last summer's Euros.

Both Toney and Eriksen could feature for the visit of Newcastle on Saturday and they certainly possess the skill-sets to breathe new life into Brentford's season and prevent them from being sucked further into the scrap for survival.