Brentford 1 – 3 Arsenal happymamay

Arsenal closed the gap with Liverpool at the top of the Premier League to six points after recording a 3-1 win over Brentford at the Gateick Community Stadium.

Liverpool’s emphatic win over West Ham on Sunday evening has left Arsenal on edge over the past few days, with the gap at the top between the two sides by nine points. However, the Gunners started 2025 with a win to move back to second place, but it has not been without worry for Mikel Arteta’s side.

Brentford went into the game suffering somewhat of an injury crisis as Thomas Frank had enough of a full Premier League squad on the sidelines. However, it was the hosts, boosted by the availability of goalkeeper Mark Flecken, who took the lead through Brian Mbeumo’s early goal (13′).

Frank was asked about potential interest in the striker from Premier League clubs before the match and the Brentford boss laughed off suggestions that the 25-year-old could leave the club this month. Mbeumu once again showed just how important he is to Brentford, slotting low past David Raya at the near post for his 11th league goal of the season.

It is regularly said that football is a game with good margins. This proved to be the case again in this match as Raya inexplicably let Keane Lewis-Potter’s shot slip through his fingers. The ball bounced painfully towards goal but Raya reacted quickly and jumped back to clear the ball off the goal line.

Fifty-five seconds later, Arsenal equalized. Thomas Partey’s low shot was blocked by Fleken, but Jesus (29′) headed in the rebound from close range to score his sixth goal in four matches in all competitions, as the visitors equalized before halftime.

Arteta had work to do in the second half as his side struggled for quality pieces in the first half, and whatever the Spaniard said to his team, it had the desired effect, as Arsenal scored twice in three minutes.

It looked like “the free kick again” from the far end after Mikel Merino (50) scored from close range after Let It Be failed to deal with a corner kick from Ethan Nwaneri.

The Gunners celebrated after three minutes and eight seconds when Nwaniri, who was starting for the first time in the league, passed a cross pass that was cleared by Gabriel Martinelli, who shot the ball into the far corner to give his team breathing room.

There was no dramatic comeback from Brentford, who suffered their second home defeat this season in the English Premier League.

Meanwhile, Arsenal extended their unbeaten run in all competitions to 11 matches with a third successive league win. They now have a chance to close the gap on Liverpool to three points when they face a trip to Brighton, straight away Sky Sports on Saturday (kick-off at 5.30pm), before Liverpool take on Manchester United on Super Sunday, also live. Sky Sports (Departure at 4.30 pm).

Key moment in the game?

At one end, Raya fired a shot from the goal line after nearly dropping a ring…

…And 55 seconds later, Arsenal equalized through Jesus.

Will Arsenal seize the opportunity to put pressure on Liverpool?

Sky Sports’ Oliver Yeo at Gtech Community Stadium:

The way Brentford have been playing at home this season, it has never been easy for Arsenal.

However, after facing a lot of adversity in the first 45 minutes, they passed a tough test to secure a huge win in the title race.

It now allows the Gunners to try and put some pressure on Liverpool, who were threatening to escape the league, ahead of their clash with Manchester United on Sunday. Super Sunday.

Before that, the Gunners travel to the Amex Stadium to face Brighton Saturday Night Football A win will see them reduce the gap with the Reds to three points, with two games in hand for the Slot team.

Speaking after the match, Arteta said his team was just focused on doing their job. “We can only win the next match and see what happens,” he said. “It’s not in our hands, but what we have in our hands we need to make sure we do.”

Liverpool have been cruising in recent weeks, but if Arsenal can creep into the Anfield side’s rearview mirror, pressure can do funny things.

Nwaneri Stakes claims to fill Saka’s shoes

Back in September 2022, Ethan Nwaniri He became the youngest player in Premier League history, aged 15 years and 181 days, when he came on as a substitute for Arsenal against Brentford at the Gatic Community Stadium.

He made his first Premier League start on the same pitch, playing brilliantly alongside Bukayo Saka on the right, slotting in corner kicks and playing a major role in the third goal as Arsenal came back on the wicket.

In the first half, he was the only player to complete all of his passes (17/17), while also creating two chances, a number bettered only by Martinelli (3). In total, Nwanyere only gave the ball away twice.

It was a performance that impressed Arsenal boss Arteta. “Really good. In training he gave us all the right reasons. He is an academy player and needs to play because he deserves it.

He added about the reason for the inclusion of the 17-year-old player: “In this position, it was not because of a defect. Rather, it was because he was the best player to play in this position.”

At 17 years and 286 days, Nwanyere was the third-youngest player to start a Premier League match for Arsenal, after Cesc Fabregas (17 years and 103 days against Everton in August 2004) and Theo Walcott (17 years and 212 days against Watford in October 2006). ).

Small steps for the teenager but he adds another option for Arteta in Saka’s absence.

The story of the match in statistics…

Opta stats: Capital gains for the Gunners

• Arsenal have scored more points in London derbies in the Premier League this season (14) than any other team, while no team has taken fewer points in such matches this season than Brentford (4, level with Crystal Palace).
• Brentford are the only team not to keep a clean sheet at home in the Premier League this season. In fact, the Bees have played 11 consecutive home league matches without interruption for the first time since October 2007 (13).
• Arsenal have scored nine Premier League goals from corner kicks this season, the most goals of any team. In fact, five of Arsenal’s last 12 league goals have come via corner kicks.

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