Arsenal, with Focus on Bernabéu, Draws Against Brentford

Arsenal's players were not fully focused on Saturday's match at the Emirates, where Mikel Arteta's side drew 1-1 against Brentford. The Basque manager made several rotations, with five different players starting compared to the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid. The Gunners' priority is clear: to secure a spot in the semi-finals of Europe's top competition. The 3-0 result from the first leg gives Arsenal a significant advantage, although no one in London is 100% confident that their team is already through.

The Santiago Bernabéu will host a match on Wednesday where Real Madrid will once again appeal to their epic spirit. The reigning European champions will seek to overturn a tie that would seem lost to anyone else. This is why Arteta decided to rest some of his regular starters, such as Saka, Odegaard, Merino, and Lewis-Skelly, among others. These players entered the field in the second half to gain some match rhythm. These minutes of rest could be crucial if the next match goes into extra time.

Despite this, Arsenal played a great match, dominating for the most part, but lacked the effectiveness they found last Tuesday. The Londoners took the lead an hour into the match with a superb goal from Partey, following a pass from England's current standout player, Declan Rice. Brentford stayed in the game and, in a poorly defended play by Arsenal, Wissa scored the equaliser.

This result practically resolves the Premier League for Liverpool, who could be crowned champions next week. Thus, Arsenal would not be too troubled to rotate players to focus on the Champions League, should they advance. Moreover, with the expansion of teams playing in Europe next season, the Londoners have almost guaranteed their presence in Europe's top competition.

In Germany, Borussia Dortmund also played on Saturday and secured a draw at the Allianz Arena against Bayern. Dortmund practically repeated the lineup from their debacle against Barça, while Bayern did the same from their defeat against Inter. Both teams have their European fates to resolve next week, although Bayern's task seems slightly easier.

The Bavarians will try to overturn a one-goal deficit at the home of the Serie A leaders, who defeated Cagliari 3-1 on Saturday, while Dortmund will attempt the miracle of overturning a four-goal deficit against Barça at Signal Iduna Park.