Arsenal will face West Ham in the fourth round. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)
Positive #3: We advance to the fourth round
Finally, as touched upon already, the most important outcome from the match was the team booking their place in the next round of the cup – and that is exactly what they did.
Under Arteta, we have suffered multiple early-round exits in both the FA Cup and the Carabao Cup and a run deep into the competition must be the target for everyone involved with the club.
We will now face West Ham United away in the next round.
Negative #3: Failed to capitalise when on top
There is a theme with the negatives from this game – each of them have been present in the vast majority of our games this campaign, and the third and final one is that we failed to capitalise while on top.
We were excellent in the first half, but, due to the fact we only scored one goal, left ourselves a fragile lead to defend in the latter stages of the match.
As with the previous two negatives, Arteta must find a way to resolve this issue, and quickly, if we are to mount another serious title challenge this season.
September 28, 2023</a></p></blockquote>
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<h2>Positive #1: Debut for Charles Sagoe Jr</h2>
<p>A standout positive from the match is the fact that Arteta handed Sagoe his full first-team debut for Arsenal, and even more importantly, the 19-year-old looked fairly bright before his 68th-minute substitution.</p>
<p>There were flashes of what we can expect from the winger as the Englishman displayed excellent dribbling and close control skills in the first half. He will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of Emile Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka and become the latest Hale End academy product to take the Emirates by storm.</p>
<h2>Negative #1: Lost control in the second half</h2>
<p>Despite dominating in the first half, we lost control of the second half almost as soon as it began, and our inability to control the entirety of a match is beginning to become a real cause for concern.</p>
<p>We became the side pinned back in our box and had it not been for a string of smart stops from Ramsdale, Brentford would have scored the goal that their second-half display deserved.</p>
<p>As it stands, we progressed which is the important thing, but Arteta must find a way to allow the team to begin controlling matches for 90 minutes, rather than just 45, again.</p>
<p><em>Continued on the next slide…</em></p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/09/29/3-positives-negatives-arsenal-1-0-brentford-win/3/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> #2 positive and negative </a>
</div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_136661" class="wp-caption alignnone">
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-136661" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/09/29/3-positives-negatives-arsenal-1-0-brentford-win/3/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1706,w_2560/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1704616502-scaled.jpeg" alt="" width="2560" height="1706" srcset="https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1704616502-scaled.jpeg 2560w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1704616502-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1704616502-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1704616502-2048x1365.jpeg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px"><p class="wp-caption-text">Smith Rowe was bright at Brentford. (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)</p>
</div>
<h2>Positive #2: Emile Smith Rowe</h2>
<p>It was so good to see Smith Rowe back in the starting lineup, and even better to see him playing well, particularly in the first half. The 23-year-old shone in the first 45 minutes and was very unlucky with his effort from close range that was saved by the Brentford goalkeeper.</p>
<p>It was by no means his best performance in an Arsenal shirt, but it was an important one nonetheless. If Smith Rowe can rediscover the form he displayed before his injury, he will be a very important player for the squad and could help us mount another serious title challenge this season.</p>
<h2>Negative #2: Defensive errors</h2>
<p>Another negative that has also been present in almost all our games so far this campaign is individual defensive errors. As has been the case in the majority of those games, the errors made against Brentford did not lead to us conceding, but that does not make them any less concerning.</p>
<div class="embed ">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Brentford (1.50) 0-1 (1.26) Arsenal</p>
<p>— The xG Philosophy (@xGPhilosophy) <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/09/29/3-positives-negatives-arsenal-1-0-brentford-win/3/"https://twitter.com/xGPhilosophy/status/1707132833867919455?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>September 27, 2023</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/09/29/3-positives-negatives-arsenal-1-0-brentford-win/3/"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></div>
<p>As per <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/09/29/3-positives-negatives-arsenal-1-0-brentford-win/3/"https://twitter.com/xGPhilosophy/status/1707132833867919455">The xG Philosophy</a>, Brentford recorded an expected goals figure of 1.5, a portion of which came as a direct result of our defensive errors, and, on another day, we would have been punished.</p>
<p>Along with our inability to maintain control over matches, Arteta must also find a way to eradicate these needless mistakes.</p>
<p>Continue on the next slide…</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/09/29/3-positives-negatives-arsenal-1-0-brentford-win/3/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> #3 positive and negative </a>
</div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_136662" class="wp-caption alignnone">
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-136662" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/09/29/3-positives-negatives-arsenal-1-0-brentford-win/3/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1706,w_2560/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1704703920-scaled.jpeg" alt="" width="2560" height="1706" srcset="https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1704703920-scaled.jpeg 2560w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1704703920-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1704703920-1536x1023.jpeg 1536w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1704703920-2048x1364.jpeg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px"><p class="wp-caption-text">Arsenal will face West Ham in the fourth round. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)</p>
</div>
<h2>Positive #3: We advance to the fourth round</h2>
<p>Finally, as touched upon already, the most important outcome from the match was the team booking their place in the next round of the cup – and that is exactly what they did.</p>
<p>Under Arteta, we have suffered multiple early-round exits in both the FA Cup and the Carabao Cup and a run deep into the competition must be the target for everyone involved with the club.</p>
<p>We will now <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/09/29/3-positives-negatives-arsenal-1-0-brentford-win/3/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/09/27/arsenal-face-carabao-cup-fourth-round/">face West Ham United</a> away in the next round.</p>
<h2>Negative #3: Failed to capitalise when on top</h2>
<p>There is a theme with the negatives from this game – each of them have been present in the vast majority of our games this campaign, and the third and final one is that we failed to capitalise while on top.</p>
<p>We were excellent in the first half, but, due to the fact we only scored one goal, left ourselves a fragile lead to defend in the latter stages of the match.</p>
<div class="embed ">
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<p>As with the previous two negatives, Arteta must find a way to resolve this issue, and quickly, if we are to mount another serious title challenge this season.</p><!—pageview_candidate—>">
