Thomas Frank wades in on Arsenal VAR debate as he complains decision 'massively overshadowed' Brentford performance

• Mikel Arteta unhappy after match
• Says it "cost Arsenal two points"
• Frank disagrees with Gunners boss

WHAT HAPPENED? In a closely-fought encounter, the Gunners led thanks to Leandro Trossard's first goal for the club but Ivan Toney equalised just eight minutes later. However, VAR failed to notice the office in the build-up and the PGMOL have since apologised for their mistake.

WHAT THEY SAID: Despite that error, Frank has insisted that his team deserved the point anyway, explaining: “I think it’s very important of course, the refereeing department gets the VAR situations right. No doubt about that we would have been disappointed as well if it happened towards us. It was a human mistake, which I completely understand, we have seen human mistakes in football over the last 100 years.

“Unfortunately, I think that decision has massively overshadowed our performance against Arsenal. Where the performance was more than good enough for a well-deserved point. If there should have been a winner, it could have easily been us. Nobody spoke about the Bryan Mbeumo situation at the beginning of the game after 11 minutes when he is through on goal, actually scores and Ramsdale tries to save it. That is also a human error, but because it’s not checked by VAR it’s not as big.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Arsenal may have had more possession and more shots but Brentford finished the game having missed two big chances compared to none from the Gunners. Perhaps shaken by the draw, Mikel Arteta's men then lost to Man City later in the week which means they have now dropped to second in the Premier League.

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WHAT NEXT? The Gunners will try to bounce back against Aston Villa on Saturday, while Brentford host Crystal Palace at 3pm on the same day.