Brentford manager Thomas Frank questioned his side's quality after a goalless draw against Crystal Palace which highlighted the need for new signing Christian Eriksen.

The Bees were twice denied by goalkeeper Vicente Guaita, blocking with his knee when Sergi Canós played Bryan Mbeumo in behind and diving to parry Pontus Jansson’s late header.

There were also several penalty appeals for both sides, but VAR had no interest in Palace defender Marc Guehi’s first-half handball or Wilfried Zaha’s protestations after he was felled by Rico Henry in injury time.

The draw was Brentford’s first clean sheet since their 1-0 win over Everton in November, ending a run of five back-to-back league defeats, but without top scorer Ivan Toney the home side were uninspiring.

Frank said: “It was a big positive to get a clean sheet, but we need to do better on the ball, have more quality in the final third.

“I’m a positive man so I will look at it as a good point, but I’m also eager to have more.

“I like the consistency; we gave very little away but we need to do more offensively. I think one day we’ll just be explosive.”

The loudest cheer was before the whistle when Eriksen emerged to an ovation from both sets of fans, embracing Frank who he’s close with following their time in Denmark’s U17s.

The 30-year-old hasn’t played since his cardiac arrest in Denmark’s opening Euro 2020 fixture against Finland, when he needed life-saving treatment from medics on the field.

Eriksen was released from Inter Milan after he was fitted with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator, and the Bees signed him in the January window on an end-of-season deal.

Frank said Eriksen could be the greatest signing in Brentford’s history, already bagging an assist in a friendly against Southend, although Saturday’s derby with Arsenal could come too soon for his Premier League return.

Frank said: “It’s a big day, not only for Brentford but for everyone in football. It will be even crazier when he gets on the pitch and plays.

“It’s a bit of a miracle that first and foremost he is healthy but also that he wants and feels ready to play football again.

“Christian has been running a lot, training a lot, it’s a joy watching him play football – so natural for him – that’s fantastic to see.”

“He looks like the quality player we know he is, but another thing is getting up to match speed.”