Thomas Frank declared Arsenal title contenders after seeing his Brentford side beaten by the Premier League leaders on Sunday afternoon.
Goals from William Saliba, Gabriel Jesus and Fábio Vieira ensured the game was over by the 49th minute, meaning Arsenal were back on top and bounced back from their defeat at Manchester United. They have won six league games from seven and Frank believes they could be equipped to end a 19-year wait for the crown.
“They’re top of the table so you can’t argue with that, they’ve done brilliantly,” he said. “Looking at the quality, they have to be title contenders. From what I’ve seen in the seven games, I think they’ve been very good – they’ve won six cleanly and the other game could have gone either way. [Gabriel] Jesus, wow, what a player…nothing against that [Manchester] City but sometimes it clicks in a different environment.
“[Bukayo] From and [Martin] The Ødegaards are a year older: Ødegaard, what a player. Saliba, I am sure he will be a complete international player for France. He will start with this team and this is a strong international team.”
Frank said the defeat, which came a month after the Bees had thrashed Manchester United 4-0, was proof that “it’s never as good as it looks and it’s never as bad as it feels”.
Mikel Arteta, whose side face Tottenham and Liverpool at the Emirates after the international break, was predictably coy about the title but more open about his decision to give 15-year-old Ethan Nwaneri years and 181 days, a record debut. He became the youngest footballer to play in the Premier League after coming on as a substitute in added time.
‘Gut feeling’: Mikel Arteta on 15-year-old Ethan Nwaneri’s debut video
“It was a pure feeling,” Arteta said. “I met the guy and I really liked what I saw… he’s trained a couple of times with us. He had to come yesterday because we have injuries, especially Martin’s [Ødegaard]and then I had the feeling that if the opportunity came I would do it.
Start your evenings with The Guardian’s opinion on the world of football
Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertisements and content funded by third parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
“It’s another step [for Nwaneri], another experience. In your career not all steps will go forward. After that he might need three back to pull another one forward, but I think he deserved it. It also sends a very strong message about who we are as a club.”