Post by Webster on Feb 10, 2023 18:03:11 GMT
(The Guardian) Brentford start the weekend in seventh place. Perhaps even more impressive is that they’ve lost just four of their 21 Premier League games this season. Only Newcastle and Arsenal have suffered fewer.
Brentford have already won away at Manchester City this term and they’ll hope to cause a similar upset at leaders Arsenal on Saturday.
Here’s boss Thomas Frank on the task in hand. “I always believe that we can win, but – and it is a big but – we are facing Arsenal who are top of the league. They have been going from strength to strength and they are in a fantastic position.
“[Mikel] Arteta has done a top job in building a culture over three years, making difficult decisions and sharpening a style of play. Arsenal can smell that they have a chance to win the league. It is well deserved that they are top. They look in sync and they have all their key players fit and available. At home they play with an unbelievable intensity.
“You can see that they are running harder and in the duels they are giving everything. They are so eager to win and that makes it even more difficult to beat them. To get anything out of this game, we need to top perform. We will probably need the best performance we have ever put out in a Premier League game.”
But Frank knows the worth of his own side. “I hope teams respect us for what we are capable of. In this group of players there are a lot of strong characters. They have been growing as individuals. It is a good feeling going into a game knowing that if we top perform then we can do something. We have always been quite strong defensively, with a good structure, mentality and principles, but now we are in a spell where everything is melted together and it is just working.”
Brentford have already won away at Manchester City this term and they’ll hope to cause a similar upset at leaders Arsenal on Saturday.
Here’s boss Thomas Frank on the task in hand. “I always believe that we can win, but – and it is a big but – we are facing Arsenal who are top of the league. They have been going from strength to strength and they are in a fantastic position.
“[Mikel] Arteta has done a top job in building a culture over three years, making difficult decisions and sharpening a style of play. Arsenal can smell that they have a chance to win the league. It is well deserved that they are top. They look in sync and they have all their key players fit and available. At home they play with an unbelievable intensity.
“You can see that they are running harder and in the duels they are giving everything. They are so eager to win and that makes it even more difficult to beat them. To get anything out of this game, we need to top perform. We will probably need the best performance we have ever put out in a Premier League game.”
But Frank knows the worth of his own side. “I hope teams respect us for what we are capable of. In this group of players there are a lot of strong characters. They have been growing as individuals. It is a good feeling going into a game knowing that if we top perform then we can do something. We have always been quite strong defensively, with a good structure, mentality and principles, but now we are in a spell where everything is melted together and it is just working.”