Thomas Frank made a confident prediction on the destination of the Premier League title after Brentford held leaders Arsenal to a draw at the Emirates Stadium.
Following last week’s shock defeat at Everton, Mikel Arteta insisted it was imperative that his pacesetters return to winning ways on home soil.
The Gunners struggled to get going in the first half, but the introduction of January signing Leandro Trossard just past the hour mark sparked his side into life.
Trossard poked home his first goal for his new club just four minutes after he entered the fray, prodding home Bukayo Saka’s pinpoint cross from close range.
Brentford, however, earned a creditable point in controversial fashion when Ivan Toney headed his 15th goal of an increasingly impressive personal campaign, despite Arteta arguing it should have been ruled out for offside.
Arsenal entertain champions Manchester City on Wednesday night in what looks likely to be an increasingly pivotal fixture, but Frank is confident Arteta’s emerging side have what it takes to end a near 20-year wait for the title.
‘They are top of the league so of course they are favourites for the title and I think they will (win it),’ Frank said in his post match press conference.
It was, meanwhile, the first time Arsenal had dropped points from a winning position in a year, but Frank was far from satisfied with a share of the spoils given his side’s dominance, especially in the first 45 minutes.
‘I said to players before the game that we needed our best performance because Arsenal have been so good,’ he said.
‘We got very close to that. I said to the boys you can’t celebrate a point no matter who you are facing. But we can celebrate a very good performance. It was more than well deserved.’
The point also extends Brentford’s unbeaten league run to 10 matches, something that appeared to surprise even Frank himself.
‘We have this secret sauce at the training ground that we give to the players every lunch – no I wish it was that, that would be a good story’,’ he joked.
‘It’s insane that it’s possible for us with the second lowest budget to be unbeaten and all 10 games well deserved wins or draws, it’s not like we’re crawling over the line… that’s maybe even more impressive.’
MORE : ‘We know he is capable’ – Ian Wright hails Leandro Trossard after scoring first Arsenal goal against Brentford
MORE : Mikel Arteta accuses referees of ‘changing the rules’ after controversial Brentford goal
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