Five Key Takeaways after Arsenal beat Brentford 

Here's Charlie Ashmore with his verdict after Arsenal beat Brentford as the tough trip to Aston Villa looms 

1 - Another cracking night of results

I had forgotten what pleasure there is to be taken when challenging for a title by watching your rivals drop points while you keep picking them up.

No sooner have Chelsea positioned themselves as challengers than they go and slip up to a newly promoted outfit and Liverpool continue to provide untold comic relief to football fans everywhere. 

There is a serious point here of course which is that so far we have been able to maintain the excellent habit champions have of taking advantage when their rivals slip up and not making the mistake of also slipping up. 

It is a fantastic habit to have and one which shows real focus and determination. 

It reinforces what I have said all season – there is something different about us this year – serious, focussed, determined and refusing to be sidetracked.  Long may it continue.

 2 - Squad use

I was surprised and a bit irritated to see Declan Rice start the match.  We all know what a great player he is and what a great personality as well. He is never going to want to sit a game out. But the manager's job is to make sure our best players remain at their best through to May and running Rice into the ground now will not help that cause. 

Having played him, to keep him on for as long as Mikel Arteta did compounded the issue and I was not surprised to see him go off with what appeared to be some sort of strain (hopefully very minor – that he was walking round the pitch at the end suggests it was minor). 

That ought to be a warning for Arteta. 

Why not play Christian Norgaard in that game?  When is Norgaard ever going to play if he can't be trusted in that sort of match?  When I say that our biggest danger to the title challenge is ourselves, it's this sort of thing that I mean. 

God knows we are having bad luck enough with injuries without inviting them by overplaying important players.

3 - Raya's under the radar excellence

Yes, he irritates me sometimes with his risk taking with the ball at his feet but I have to accept that is the way he is asked to play.  But my goodness when he is called upon to do his primary job, time and again he excels. 

That save from Kevin Schade's close range header was unbelievable.  Zero reaction time available that would have been a goal with most goalkeepers. Stunning and it is hard to overemphasise his contribution to our defensive excellence.

4 - Merino continues to shine…but needs to be careful

What a great week for him. Two beautifully simple headed goals earning us four points.  Don't be fooled by the simplicity though. And remember this guy is not a striker.  He is learning the job as he goes.  Yet somehow he looks as if he has always played this part. 

His ability to find space and be in the right place at the right time is extraordinary and we are very lucky to have him.  His goals continue to be crucial as we wait for the cavalry to return up front. Having said all that, there is an aspect of his game that annoys the hell out of me.  He goes down far too easily on against Brentford was guilty of a pathetic dive in an effort to win penalty.  Stop it. Now.

5 - Now is the time to knuckle down

I said after the Chelsea game that we had 21 points to play for over the next month before we face Liverpool again. 

Our target should be 17 at a minimum.  Three down, we head to Villa next – that is one tough fixture for us these days – Emery seems to love playing us.  And they come to the game in form though their own result this midweek shows some defensive frailty which we can hopefully take advantage of. 

If we can get through this next phase of fixtures unscathed we will be sitting very pretty indeed, especially if our rivals continue to drop points. 

So, we go again Saturday and let's hope the defensive injuries don't continue to accumulate because, for all our focus and concentration, there will come a point when we just can't keep shrugging absences off – let's hope Mosquera's injury was nothing serious and he can be available on Saturday.