Arsenal beat Brentford 2–0 on Wednesday night at the Emirates Stadium. Goals from Mikel Merino and Bukayo Saka helped the team move five points ahead of second-placed Manchester City. This win also made it 18 matches unbeaten in all competitions and eight straight home wins.

However, the match did not bring only good news. Spanish defender Cristhian Mosquera was forced to leave the game just before halftime after picking up a problem. Later in the match, Declan Rice also had to come off. He looked to be struggling with a calf injury and was substituted ten minutes before the final whistle.

Arteta is already missing key defenders Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba. Midfielders Kai Havertz and Leandro Trossard are also out injured. This has made the situation more worrying for the Arsenal manager. He explained that Rice could walk but was not able to continue playing, and that the medical team would check him the next day.

Arsenal have had a very busy and tough week. They have played against top teams like Tottenham, Bayern Munich, and Chelsea. Because of this, Arteta had tried to rest Bukayo Saka, Jurrien Timber, and Eberechi Eze in the Brentford match. But all three had to come on as substitutes.

Arteta also spoke about the tight match schedule. He said the players were tired and needed more time to rest and recover between games. Arsenal now face a difficult away match against an in-form Aston Villa on Saturday morning.