New season, same old Arsenal.
Coming up against a newly promoted side was never going to be a simple task, especially when they boast one of the most exciting forwards around in Ivan Toney.
A new stadium filled to capacity with excited supporters provided the perfect atmosphere for Brentford players to flourish, but there can be no excuses for what was an underwhelming first game of the Premier League campaign for the Gunners.
Brentford coach Thomas Frank revealed after the game that he would have been "disappointed" if his team didn't win on the day, a telling sentence as to how far Arsenal have declined in recent years.
For Mikel Arteta, the task is clear. New players won't single-handedly fix the problems at Emirates Stadium but they will certainly go some way to strengthening what already looks like a disjointed team.
The first goal provided a clear example as to why Calum Chambers isn't the right man to fill in for Arsenal at right-back in a back four.
Arsenal's need for a new right-back is even more evident when you consider Hector Bellerin has angled for a move all summer, and Cedric Soares hasn't had much game time in the second half of Arteta's reign at the club.
"It’s a very disappointing night," said Arteta.
"We needed to start in a very different way. The performance in the two halves was different. In the first half, we had periods where we weren’t ourselves.
"We got in trouble pretty easily in different ways with the long balls and the second balls. We were very disappointed with that.
"We reacted in the second half after going 1-0 down, when the crowd was right behind them. We created a lot of situations but not enough threat or shots on target to win a football match.
"When you concede a goal on a long throw, it then becomes a big task."
Brentford's second goal could easily have been chalked off and there appeared to be a foul on Bernd Leno in the midst of it all, but it was once again an example of Arsenal's weakness at set-pieces.
“People are going to watch tonight and think, ‘just play long-balls on Ben White’s head & you’re going to get joy’, as they [Brentford] did tonight," said Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher after the game.
Carragher's analysis of White was particularly damning as he suggested he wouldn't want the £50million man at Liverpool because "he's not tall enough" and "not good enough in the air."
There is vast room for improvement where White is concerned and it will be tough coming into a disjointed backline with players who weren't expected to start this season as first choice.
However, can there be any surprises about the result when Arsenal's core of the team was so similar to last season?
Granit Xhaka captained the side when he almost left the club a few weeks ago and it was telling who came to speak to the media after the defeat.
New signings Sambi Lokonga and Ben White were wheeled out alongside Nicolas Pepe, who spoke to French media following a disappointing performance.
Lack of leaders has always been an issue over the years at Arsenal, but the lack of accountability when the things get tough remains a key issue as to why Arteta's side are unlikely to challenge for Europe anytime soon.
The fixture list won't do Arteta any favours over the next few weeks with Chelsea and Manchester City the standout games from what will be a tough August.
His team need to regroup, get the likes of Aubameyang and Lacazette back into the team and show much more than they did at the Brentford Community Stadium - otherwise it's going to be another long season.
