Five Takeaways from Arsenal's draw at Brentford 

Here's must-read columnist Charlie Ashmore with his take after Arsenal drew at Brentford 

1 - Now is not the time to lose it…..

We are Arsenal fans. We are bred to understand that nothing comes easy and that the general rule in Arsenal world is that we win nothing the easy way. 

We have to recognise and accept that every season is full of ifs, buts and maybes. The last few days are a classic example. 

Manchester City losing at Anfield with ten minutes to go, but somehow turning it round. Us winning at Brentford but then giving away a soft if well-worked equaliser and then missing a golden opportunity to nick it at the death. 

I have seen us win five League titles in the flesh. And do you know what, every one of those seasons had sliding doors moments – those if onlys that, had we come second, we would have been looking back on shaking our heads.  But we didn’t and they are forgotten as a result. 

We are still in control. We have a four point lead with 12 games to go. 

Would I like it to be more? Of course. 

But would City prefer to be in our shoes?  No question. 

So….let’s keep our heads and believe that magic can still happen.

2 - This is not a season for excuses

One thing that must be clear to everybody is that the time for excuses is long past. 

This is the season where all the hard work has to pay off. 

I am impressed so far that we refuse to allow outside noise and distractions to play their part.  We have generally coped remarkable well with an extraordinary litany of injuries. That of course is why we have built such a big squad. We have ignored poor decisions (and that I think has been reflected in the lack of red cards this season – we are focussing on the game not the irritations). 

So, after a few days in which things have not gone our way, we have to just recognise that is professional sport and in particular that’s the strength of the Premier League – you have to earn every point and you will drop points. 

The work done in the early part put us in a position where dropping points now is not the disaster it might have been (even if it feels like it).

3 - It feels flat….time for the coaching team to really earn their corn

There is no doubt something is missing out there on the pitch.  That spark, that zest. 

We don’t look or play with the purpose and certainty I talked about early in the season. It’s the same players.  So it must be down to one or both of two things. Nerves and/or fatigue.  Nerves is understandable. We don’t have many players who have won a major league title. 

Sometimes the closer a dream is to being fulfilled, the harder it is to get over the line. 

The pressure of knowing that any dropped points could see the dream fade can ironically lead to the sort of mistakes that lead to dropped points. 

I think we have a mentally strong group of players - that they stayed strong in the face of Brentford’s onslaught is evidence enough of that - and they have been hurt by past failures.

Although it's worth noting that one of the benefits of bringing in all those players in the summer is we have a significant proportion of the squad who aren't haunted by those. 

It’s on the backroom staff to make sure that the mentality is positive and works to our advantage and not against us. 

Fatigue is a different matter. It worries me. Time and again I have said that Declan Rice and Martin Zubimendi in particular are being overplayed.  I think Jurrien Timber has been as well.

That’s on Mikel Arteta and as we enter the season’s home straight with four competitions still to negotiate he has a difficult but essential job of managing resources carefully. 

4 - Poor decisions, anonymity and individual mistakes are costing us

Two critical mistakes cost us at Brentford. 

Martin Odegaard switched off completely for their equaliser. 

It was only for a split second but that’s all it takes.  Eberiche Eze did it at Villa and it cost us three points. 

Odegaard’s “only” cost us two points, though let’s be honest it could have been worse – that goal gave them energy and hope that their set piece delivery could win them the game and in fairness they created danger in open play – some superb last minute defending kept us level. 

David Raya of course made a horrible mistake but recovered with a superb save. And then we had the chance to put the game to bed at the death but Timber simply didn’t have the legs left to get his shot away. 

Instead he fed Gabi Martinelli who absolutely should have scored. 

Good save? Perhaps but Gabi has to put that away. 

The game was littered with mistakes – poor passing and poor decision making contributing – both signs that the nerves and fatigue I mentioned above are playing a part. 

As for anonymity, I don’t want to put the boot in on a player whose dreams have come true this season and who put Tottenham to the sword so I will just say this – Eber, you have to impose yourself on games. 

You have made a big step up for sure but it’s time to stop being a player of moments and become a player who takes games by the scruff of the neck.

5 - Perspective needed

And so I end where I started. 

I can’t pretend I wasn’t frustrated and down hearted at the end of the match yesterday. 

We all were (but even so I didn’t hear a single boo in the away end).  But on reflection, that was probably our second hardest match left behind City away. 

We didn’t lose when we could easily have done – we didn’t crumble under the late pressure and God knows there was plenty of that – we all know previous incarnations of Arsenal sides would have crumbled.   

We are still four points clear. 

We can even afford to lose at City and still win the league. 

Win at City and match their results every other week and we finish seven points clear. 

I keep saying it but the road to deliverance is not a straight line and there will be ups and downs. 

We have just endured ups and downs in five days and we are still well ahead. 

And when we reach the Promised Land as we surely can and will, weeks like this will feel irrelevant. 

Keep the faith and Come On You Gunners!