In Focus: Midfield star Jensen buzzing as Bees' creator-in-chief

Mathias Jensen has quickly become a metronomic presence at the heart of Brentford's engine room.

The Danish playmaker has been his side's creator-in-chief since Christian Eriksen's departure in 2022, yet remains somewhat underrated outside of West London.

But it is becoming difficult to ignore the Bees' No8 after a string of impressive performances for Thomas Frank's men.

As Brentford prepare to face Arsenal this evening, we turn the spotlight on the club's midfield maestro.

Chance creator

Now in his fifth season with Brentford, Jensen consistently pulls the strings at the Gtech Community Stadium.

The 27-year-old racked up six top-flight assists last term while also creating a commendable 48 chances — but has taken his game to a new level in 2023-24.

He now ranks inside the Premier League's top 20 players for chance creation (20) and has conjured the joint-eighth most big opportunities in the division (five).

Expect him to add to his two assists for the campaign sooner rather than later.

Set-piece specialist

One of Jensen's specialities is his threat from corners and free-kicks.

Only West Ham's James Ward-Prowse (16) and Luton's Alfie Doughty (15) have created more chances from set-piece situations this season (12) — and his set-piece xA (expected assists) of 1.13 is the 10th-best record in the league.

The former Celta Vigo man's dead-ball deliveries have yielded one assist to date, for Christian Norgaard's headed effort against Nottingham Forest last month.

Adding goals

Jensen has never scored more than five league goals since joining Brentford in 2019 — but he is well on his way to beating that tally this term.

The midfielder already has three for the campaign, at an eye-catching average of 0.3 per 90 minutes.

Remarkably, that trio of goals have come from just seven shots and an xG of 0.66, meaning Jensen has been deadly when presented with opportunities.

It will be fascinating to see if he can maintain that level of overperformance in the weeks and months ahead.

All-round improvement

Jensen is likely to remain a fixture at the Gtech Community Stadium for some time to come, after penning a new deal until 2026 back in January.

And Brentford boss Frank alluded to another area of the Denmark international's game that has improved when the club announced his new contract.

He said: "Matti has developed his pressing abilities this season, as well as his defensive mindset, which is so important for a Premier League midfield player."

That was reflected in last season's numbers, when he won possession 30 times in the attacking third of the pitch — only six top-tier players could better that record.

He is yet to match those figures this term but is still frequently regaining the ball in central areas, with a respectable 26 possessions won in the middle third.

Having added defensive diligence to his creative attributes and goalscoring output, Jensen is en route to becoming the complete midfielder in West London.