After chalking up 150 games in a Brentford shirt against Chelsea, Vitaly Janelt delivered another outstanding display at the heart of the Bees midfield on Saturday as Thomas Frank's side slipped to an agonising 2-1 loss to title contenders Arsenal at Emirates Stadium.

Despite falling behind to a 15th-minute Declan Rice header in north London, Brentford turned in a performance that head coach Frank afterwards heralded as "incredible" - the Bees levelling before the break when Yoane Wissa charged down Arsenal keeper Aaron Ramsdale's attempted clearance.

Although the Gunners had periods of sustained pressure after the interval, Ivan Toney and Nathan Collins both drew top-class saves from Ramsdale - only for an 86th-minute header from Kai Havertz to puncture the Bees' resistance and send Arsenal top of the Premier League.

Frank afterwards declared that "the mentality, the effort, the shift, the personality this team is showing should make all the Brentford fans unbelievably proud", and Janelt in many ways embodied the quality and spirit on show during a thrilling encounter.

The German was a composed and tenacious performer up until his late substitution, the trio of Janelt, Mathias Jensen and Frank Onyeka doing "fantastically well" in the eyes of their head coach. following a game-ending injury to Christian Nørgaard in the 34th minute.

No Brentford player earned a higher Playmaker ranking than Janelt (7.5) against Arsenal and he topped the charts in a number of stat categories courtesy of an impressive all-round showing.

With a 73 per cent pass completion rate, the 25-year-old was reliable in possession and tigerish in the challenge, spraying more accurate long balls (4) and winning more tackles (4) than any player on either side during the game.

Whether it was blocking shots or playing key passes, making interceptions or delivering accurate crosses, Janelt was central to the action for Brentford, and the Bees skipper at the Emirates afterwards addressed his side's outstanding work ethic.

"It was a great shift, but we didn’t get the points," he said.

“Right now, I don’t think momentum is with us. Everyone expected that Arsenal would win by three, four, five today because of their last results, but everyone knows how difficult it is to play against us either at home or away."

'What If' moments count for nothing in football, but it is worth reflecting on the fact that Brentford have come close to bagging precious Premier League points at some of the toughest grounds in European football this season.

If their trips to Old Trafford, the Etihad and the Emirates had been 70-minute affairs, the Bees would have amassed five points from a possible nine, but - as was the case against champions Manchester City last month - late goals have scuppered some impressive displays on the road this term.

Having pushed Arsenal all the way, Janelt and his side will now hope to marry performance levels with points when they head to Burnley next weekend for an important fixture at Turf Moor.