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Keith Andrews isn’t particularly keen to be Arsenal’s unlikely hero but Brentford’s fearless approach has left a side fully convinced they can make an impact in the Premier League title race.
Manchester City have little margin for error when Brentford arrive on Saturday evening, live on Sky Sports, with Arsenal supporters desperately hoping the visitors can deliver a damaging blow to Pep Guardiola’s side.
But Brentford have their own ambitions. A maiden European qualification remains within reach and that, rather than anything else, drives Andrews.
Saturday May 9 at 5:00 p.m
5:30pm kick off
“The narrative around last week’s game was around West Ham and fighting to stay in the league,” he said Sky Sports. “I was pretty adamant at the time that I didn’t really care about it, to be blunt.
“I care about us and what we’re trying to do and it’s the same this weekend. I obviously know what the impact is going to be, regardless of the result, but we’ve got our own agendas to take care of.”
But what exactly will give Arsenal fans hope for a title-deciding upset at the Etihad Stadium?
“I really like the edge we play with,” Andrews said. “I like to see us really As we see.
“We are a team that respects the opposition, respects the level, respects what you have to do to get results in the league. But equally we have the feeling that we will go toe-to-toe with any team in the league.
“We’re in decent form. We’re playing pretty well. We’re still playing with a lot of energy and personality, which I like. And we’re just starting to bring one or two players back to help the key players who have done really, really well in the last couple of weeks when the squad has been a little lighter.”
Keith Andrews (right) is aiming to derail Pep Guardiola’s title bid
Typically for Brentford, though, most of the outside focus is on their opponents rather than themselves.
“We don’t really need to shout it from the rooftops, I don’t think the club ever has and I love it,” said Andrews, who has quietly and impressively taken the west London club to the brink of club history.
“We want to see our business in a league that’s pretty small where we want to be really ambitious and go to places like Man City and show real guts.”
Perfect timing, then, with three games left to take the club to places it has never been before despite major changes in the summer. “We’re in a situation where a lot of people didn’t feel we would be,” said the head coach who was overseeing set pieces this time last year.
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Pep Guardiola says Manchester City can win their game to keep the pressure on Arsenal ahead of their game against Brentford.
Andrews started the season the bookmakers’ favorite to sack the Premier League manager. A 3-1 defeat at Nottingham Forest on the opening day only shortened those odds, yet Brentford have grown steadily stronger since then.
“As painful as it was, I quickly put it in a box because I realized where we were at that point in the journey.
“There were a lot of changes over the summer. A bit of uncertainty about how the season would go.
“I was pretty confident we could have a successful season and try to do something. But the players deserve a lot of credit for what I’ve done and the way they’ve embraced the league, the way we’ve built as a new team. It’s really impressive.”
His impact is that of striker Igor Thiago with 22 league goals and is behind only Man City’s Erling Haaland on the scoring charts. The Brazilian may have lacked the Golden Boot in his first full season but for him “highlights to everyone in this conversation that he’s had a special season”.
Andrews described his first season as head coach as a “constant learning curve” but what once looked like a potentially punishing campaign now carries the potential to be a historic one.
Questions about Europe may have become repetitive for Andrews, but that’s a measure of how far they’ve come.
“There are three tough games to go but everyone keeps asking me about it so it’s definitely a nice thing and we can still achieve something pretty special.
“I am proud of the journey we have made as a team because for me we are the essence of a team. For us the result is always the sum of our parts, not one person, not one staff member, not one player.”
Whether they end Arsenal’s title hopes or make history for themselves, Andrews’ Brentford have already established exactly what they are.
Watch Man City v Brentford live on Saturday Night Football on Sky Sports, kick-off 5.30pm
