Needing a reaction to Manchester City's 3-0 triumph over Fulham, Arsenal left the Gtech Community Stadium with just a point as Brentford's Keane Lewis-Potter cancelled out Noni Madueke's opener.
The hosts were well worth their point and arguably deserved more, harrying the Gunners from minute one and making life extremely uncomfortable for the league leaders, just as Bees manager Keith Andrews would have wanted.
The result cuts Arsenal's lead at the top of the Premier League to just four points, meaning their next league game, away at bottom of the table Wolverhampton Wanderers, is a must win.
Here are four things we learnt from the draw.
A Concerning Lack of Attacking Flair
With just one shot in the opening 45 minutes, Arsenal found it very tough to break down a stubborn Brentford backline, much to the frustration of the travelling fans.
Eberechi Eze, in the absence of Kai Havertz and with Martin Odegaard only fit enough for the bench, struggled, once again, to have any meaningful say on proceedings and was subsequently replaced by the latter at the halftime interval.
Although a more positive first 15 minutes of the second half, resulting in Noni Madueke's opener, the Gunners looked tired and were missing their usual zip and injections of pace, allowing Brentford to happily sit deep and then hit the away side on the counter attack.
Kai Havertz's Noticeable Absence
Having finally returned from a long-term injury, Havertz's return to the starting 11 in a midfield role had proven to be an effective weapon for Arteta, and so with news of a new muscular injury for the German, Arsenal will be missing a key part of their attack.
Whilst Viktor Gyokeres showed good hold-up play on numerous occasions, he didn't get the chance to show his ability in front of goal, and, as we have seen in recent matches, Havertz can unleash this side of him by dragging defenders towards him and allowing space for the Swede to operate in.
The former Chelsea man would also have provided some extra physicality in the Gunners' midfield, something that is pivotal against a well-organised, aggressive Brentford side, and something that the likes of Martin Zubimendi, Odergaard, and Eze are short of.
Individual Moments of Defensive Brilliance
Despite not looking at their defensive best, and being breached by a Michael Kayode long throw, Brentford are a very tough side to face away from home and Arsenal stayed switched on to ensure one point didn't turn into none.
Gabriel Magalhaes and Christhian Mosquera, on the whole, dealt with the substantial threat of Igor Thiago, with the young, Spanish defender making an exceptional recovery challenge on the Bees' number nine in the closing stages.
Declan Rice, as usual, was one of the standout Arsenal players, working relentlessly up until the final whistle, and in similar fashion to Mosquera, had his defensive timing spot on with a vital interception inside his own penalty box to deny Mikkel Damsgaard a golden opportunity to win it for the hosts.
A Bit of Perspective
Although not an ideal result, and certainly not an ideal performance, Brentford's recent form and their strength when playing in front of a home crowd always made this fixture as a potential banana skin for the league leaders.
Based on the chaotic nature of the encounter and the intent of the home side, Mikel Arteta may come back to this game as an important point in the title race. Brentford arguably were the better team, and as the saying goes, 'if you can't win a game, don't lose it.'
Aside from the Manchester City clash at the Etihad later on in the season, this was perhaps Arsenal's toughest fixture, with their 12 remaining matches consisting of six home games, five away games against 13th, 14th, 15th, 18th, and 20th in the league, and then Pep Guardiola's side.