Martin Keown hails 'stand-out' Arsenal star after Brentford draw but points out issue

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Martin Keown felt Declan Rice led by example for Arsenal in their taxing 1-1 draw with Brentford but claimed some of their other big-name stars 'didn't quite look themselves'.

The Gunners' lead over Manchester City at the Premier League summit now stands at four points after Keane Lewis-Potter cancelled out Noni Madueke's opening goal with a header from a long throw. City were at risk of being NINE points behind Mikel Arteta's men prior to their stunning late fightback against Liverpool at the weekend, a result they followed up with a fine 3-0 win over Fulham on Wednesday.

Arsenal are still in the driving seat when it comes to the title race, though Brentford had chances to take all three points late on in an enthralling finale.

Arteta introduced Martin Odegaard at the break in response to a disappointing first half. And while the Norwegian made a positive impact, Keown pointed out that after going down hurt, Odegaard, plus Bukayo Saka and Riccardo Calafiori - two players who have spent time out injured recently, looked out of sorts before lauding Rice off the back of another imperious display.

"I think without doubt (they improved after Odegaard came on) because I think what Odegaard brings is often missed - he presses really high up the pitch and Brentford then couldn't play through the midfield in the way they wanted to," he told TNT Sports.

"When the goal came they (Arsenal) were in a really good moment, but then for me Odegaard gets injured, he didn't look quite the same player after that.

"I think the Arsenal players that came off the bench didn't quite look themselves - Saka, Calafiori. That was difficult for Arsenal, obviously Brentford were making it difficult. I thought the stand-out player for Arsenal, Declan Rice , was immense with the amount of distance he was covering. He was the stand-out player."

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Brentford head coach, Keith Andrews, also pointed out the impact Odegaard had off the ball following his introduction for Eberechi Eze, who failed to make an impact on the game.

He told TNT Sports: "Odegaard is a very good presser, when he releases from No 10 out to centre-backs he times it really well and the angle he goes is very effective. He's very good at it.

"They do it in different ways when he doesn't play. I always expected a reaction [when Odegaard came on]."

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