Brentford 0 Arsenal 1
Brentford welcomed Mikel Arteta’s side to the Gtech Community Stadium with a record in London derbies that would have filled them full of confidence. It was a chance for The Gunners to go top of the table after results earlier in the day.
Arteta said that the club brought in David Raya so that they had competition for the number one jersey with two keepers capable of filling the role. If you were to somehow blend both him and Aaron Ramsdale as one, you still wouldn’t have a complete keeper.
Ramsdale started this game and almost gifted the hosts the first goal. He dwelled on the ball in front of his own goal and was robbed by Wissa, who touched it back to Mbuemo. As the forward shot at goal, Rice managed to clear the effort off the line.
However, the half-clearance fell to Wissa seemingly with an open goal to aim for. Somehow, the Brentford man steered the ball wide of the target. It was a huge let off for the visitors, Thomas Frank could not believe his side had not scored.
Credit: @Arsenal
Arsenal’s first chance came when Zinchenko’s cross found Trossard with a free header, but he could not keep it down as it went well over the crossbar. He looked disappointed as he knew what a big chance this was.
Just before the break, Saka clipped a ball into Jesus, whose header was palmed into the air by Flekken. Trossard followed up to head in at the back post but the celebrations were short-lived. VAR was to rule the effort out for offside, with the Belgian just straying off as Jesus headed it.
The Bees created the first chance of the second half as Wissa flicked the ball towards Mbuemo, but the Brentford striker dragged it wide of the near post. For a player who has been a constant goal threat this season, he will be disappointed with his effort.
Frank’s side created another chance as Mbuemo sat a cross up towards the far post where Maupay attacked it with a header. Sadly for Brentford, his goal-bound effort was cleared off the line by a sliding Zinchenko to deny them.
It was starting to look like we were never going to see a goal in this game as these two teams were seeming to cancel each other out. Mikel Arteta should be concerned about how his side look devoid of goals so much this season.
Kai Havertz replaced Gabriel Martinelli late on in the game. Arsenal pushed forward desperately trying to find a goal. Rice tried his luck from range but the effort was deflected wide for a corner which The Gunners could not capitalise on.
Credit: @Arsenal
Saka then swung a ball into the back post and it was met by the head of Havertz who beat the Brentford keeper to give the visitors a late lead. Brentford can expect to have to watch that goal many times in training this week. The defending that led to it was horrendous. They looked dead on their feet.
Questions could also be asked of Flekken in the Brentford goal, beaten at his near post as the German’s header went through his legs. When you watch reviews of the season, this game will not feature in it, the encounter was a tough watch.
From an Arsenal perspective, the three points are all that matter, taking them to the top of the Premier League. Talk continues about The Gunners going one step further than last season and winning the league, somehow, I don’t think this squad have it in their locker.
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