London: Having lost to Brentford on the opening day of the season, Arsenal hit back with a 2-1 win. The margin would have been considerably greater but for myriad missed chances in a match which saw the Gunners in dominating form. Victory puts them level on points with fifth-placed West Ham but the Gunners have three games in hand to them as well as to fourth-placed Manchester United.
Arsenal’s manager, Mikel Arteta said: “The scar was there from that defeat at Brentford and I certainly felt the hurt. I tried to transmit that to the players and told them not to forget how we felt after that game.
“That was an invaluable time for me to understand all the people we have at the club. The more difficult the situation was, the closer we became as a group and that was a game changer because it really united everyone.”
He added: “Nobody was blaming each other, nobody was hiding and everyone wanted to contribute. Now we want to win every game and we are a little bit closer to our goals because we won this game and are very happy with the way we’re playing.”
Arsenal’s 24 shots at goal – 16 in the first half – and 14 corners were proof of their superiority and two appeals for penalties were turned down with the Bees fortunate not to concede goals in the first half. Arsenal did have the ball in the net in the 13th minute but Alex Lacazette was marginally ruled off-side.
The Bees resistance was broken within three minutes of the start of the second half. On receiving a pass from Lacazette, Emile Smith Rowe moved in from the left, cut inside, passing Kristoffer Ajer and from the edge of the box he curled a right-footed shot just inside the far post for his 10th goal of the season.
Halfway through the half, the Bees did have a spell when they managed more of the possession without causing much worry to the Gunners defence. In fact, at the other end, a goalline tackle by Christian Norgaard denied Nicolas Pepe a chance for a second goal.
With just eleven minutes remaining Arsenal broke through for their second goal with Thomas Partey providing a pass to Bukayo Saka whose firm left-footed shot found the net off the far post. Brentford managed a consolation goal in stoppage time after VAR had checked Norgaard’s effort.
Brentford manager, Thomas Frank said: “I still think the teams below us would prefer to be in out position. One victory would do a lot definitely and I don’t think it’s very far away. It’s about keeping believing.” Brentford have had just one point from their last seven matches.
Thomas added: “Four of our last six games have been against Liverpool, Manchester United, Manchester City and Arsenal and I think they are relatively big clubs. It’s about staying positive and consistent in our approach. Right now, I’d love a scrappy 1-0 win but I’m convinced we’ll do well going forward.”
