Kai Havertz was Arsenal’s hero as the Gunners defeated a resilient Brentford side, propelling themselves to the top of the Premier League table.
Mikel Arteta’s side had observed Liverpool and Manchester City sharing the spoils in their earlier game and knew they had to win to secure the top spot in the Premier League table, which they did.
It was not an easy game by any means, as Brentford showed why they are one of the toughest clubs to beat in the Premier League. Arsenal thought they had scored the opener in the first half when Leandro Trossard found the back of the net, but it was ruled out for offside by VAR.
In the second half, Brentford aimed to press for a victory and sensed they could win. However, Arsenal was still in pursuit of that elusive goal and had Oleksandr Zinchenko to thank for a goal-line clearance.
It appeared as though Brentford would escape with a point, but Mikel Arteta shuffled his team and brought on the highly criticized Kai Havertz as a substitute late in the game. The German would emerge as the hero of the day, heading home the game’s only goal in the 88th minute.
He couldn’t have chosen a better time to score his second goal for the Gunners and silence his critics, for now anyway.
Arsenal will need to step up their game in future but the points are in the bag and Arsenal are top and that is all that counts.
Havertz the hero. im so happy that we won. very tight match. but a win against Brentford away is a great result. especially with Liverpool and Manchester City drawing. COYG
The performance may not have been up to the standard we are capable but the 3 points is more important at the moment. Some of the greatest team in history often scrapped to some victory on their way to lifting trophies in their days. COYG
It was a bad performance, because we almost conceded too many times. Our players are always dull after a long international break
Fortunately, lady luck smiled upon our lamp post. I think his experience as an LB in his last two international games made him learn some stuff
Gai, The mark of champions is digging deep to win even when not playing well. Though not impressed with the performance I am encouraged by the outcome. Most big teams don’t do well after the break even MCity were not up to it today they drew. Playing Brentford at their home has never been easy for any team this is their 2nd lose at the stadium this season.
Yeah, I forgot it was a derby as well
I was just a bit disappointed with Arsenal’s highly cautious approach. I wish they were more creative in the final-third
This season we have never been creative in final third except for Sheffield match, we have relied mostly on set pieces, penalties for goals and this is most worrisome. We create situation where opposition crowd in their defense area and create tight spaces making our life difficult. Yet for large part of it we have been able to score and win. But in long run this may come to hunt us. We need to find spaces and create spaces in tight game and little more aggressive on counter attack. Just dont want our each and every game to be nail biting one
Xhaka added a big deal to our creativity last season because of his positional awareness.. Arsenal is yet to replace him or find a player within their ranks that can do same. We can’t overemphasize the importance of a tall CF that can compete in the box well. Many Corner kicks yesterday without a goal
Xhaka had one good season, and all of sudden he was one of our best players, haven’t people forgotten how many times he got sent off, costing us games, sorry I don’t buy it at all
I thought I was the only one who observed the dull performance.
So many touches of the ball that didn’t prove anyone with the it had an idea where it was supposed to go. We always wanted to go round them through the edges and none of our players demonstrated courage to drive them and bully the goal ….. we were so apologetic in our approach.
I was disappointed and we were lucky to win that game
I think we need a stronger CF to vary our attacking methods
This game showed the need of striker and Nketiah is running out of excuses. But with our game plan, I guess it might be difficult for even a proper striker to score goals as our midfield is not supplying them too much of the ball and we are playing in tight spaces which make it difficult for anyone to take shots. Jesus who is so good in the box still not taking too many shots so we can imagine other center forward will find it more difficult. Yes, we can expect some improvement in heading or some other aspect. But don’t think any radical improvement will happen.
Top of the league, tricky fixture out the way. Be happy fellow gooners tonight is a good night! Enjoy!
Exactly bruv! We have to be up on our feet and enjoy the ride. COYG!
Football supporting is brutal, you have to enjoy the good times otherwise what is the point!
Well done Kai, at last. I think Tomiyasu is better at left back than at right back and a better left back than Zinchenko, even though Zinchenko made a great goal line clearance. Man of the match by far for me was Declan Rice. As for the game is was cra ……not very good.
He was brilliant
Tomiyashu had good game in right back, but zinchenko was another level, as saving one clear cut goal in such a tight game is life saving. Without zinko and rice save we would have gone 2-0 down and that would have been no way back for us. Now we have taken the lead, it is extremely important to keep the momentum and not lose point against crucial crunch against Liverpool and Aston villa.
An away game After an international break is very diffecult.Kai Havertz showed at last why we payed that amount of money for him i have faith in him that he Can delivrer given his expérience and the career he had so far despite his youth…Happy with the three points
Nice way to close out the weekend! COYG!
As the old proverb says, every journey begins with the first step so let’s hope for KH he has now set off.The result was better than the performance but, hey, we are top of the table.
THAT must be the understatement of tth century in football matches. It was, if one is truthful, an APPALLING game, dull as watching paint dry, with no pace, no interchanging of players, huge wasted time forall throw ins, free kicks and corners. .
Enough to make one weep with frustration .
Grandad, IF I had to watch THAT sort of game every week, I would give up watching football. It was hideous.
But we ARE top of the table. Though playing like that, we cannot possibly stay there long.
REALITY, and not foolishly making out something awful was acceptable. IT WAS NOT!!
What comes across as “foolish” to me is YOU and your fellow non tactical oriented fans not giving credit to the opposition who were well drilled defensively and equally as deadly on the break hence our cautious approach to prevent them from carrying out their secondary mission to stun us from a counter and it has’nt occur to you yet that we have successfully handed teams like them a dilema to chose btw low block and all out approach as we’ve got the set up to unlock both game play from opponents but it seems guys like yourself don’t do tactics.
Give up watching football?? Haven’t you even realized that this season Arsenal have been almost playing in similar fashion all way along. But, its true that unless we improve in certain aspect and get more creative in final third, we may not sustain in long run.
Jon, THAT sort of game is what we get every week watching Arsenal under Arteta. We are not an exciting or fun team to watch. We are lucky and efficient and one of those factors is missing we lose. I like these players but I don’t like this team.
If you give even the most inept chef some quality ingredients, a good recipe and some excellent coaching they will do a decent job. But that is all we are getting. Frankly, it is more entertaining watching the likes of Aston Villa (ironically), Spurs, Newcastle, Brighton, even Everton recently.
I don’t like Arteta, and I never have. I had a wobble last season when we were doing well but got proven right at the end. He was an mediocre player and he is a mediocre manager. He has taken a talented group of exciting young players and is making them into a boring, predictable, and cynical team.
When he came on I knew he was going to score and I’m really surprised he didn’t start. For all the flack I give him I thought a game against stout, tall defenders where we’d be putting in lots of crosses would be perfect for him. Far from a good game from both sides but job done!
Thats what we bought him for!!!!!
Really poor game again, with the exception of Declan Rice, who is our Mr Goto. Everyone else just seemed to huff and puff. Great win though and through it all back on top. They say you need a world class keeper and world class striker. We haven’t either really. Our goalie situation look more fragile the longer it goes on. We have not let that many goals in but that isn’t down to the fragile goalkeeper situation. Two goal line clearances today and lucky not to have been behind. But we move on for the time being, not quite serenely but with a bit of improvement to come, hopefully.
We need to keep Rice fit. He can not be replaced.
Raya’s stats completely disagree with that arguement on the GK. It’s also worth noting that Fleken is struggling massively to put up the numbers Raya did at Brentford which deads the arguement his stats were due to how Brentford play. Agenda’s going to agenda. We have the best defence in the league statistically and actually.
We could do with more fluidity upfront and I’m with you on signing a striker particularly if that striker has a different profile ala Vlahovic or otherwise.
No it doesn’t dead the argument, ARE YOU BLIND?
Our goalkeepers have got away with murder so far, BOTH.
? Make it make sense? Fleken is posting worse numbers than Raya therefore you can’t argue Rayas numbers were due to Brentford play style that does dead that arguement empirically literally (insert any word you like.) I swear you argue just for the sake of arguing sometimes
Angus, you are off on your tangent again. I dont care about Flekken, i cant give a fluck about him. I mentioned the goalkeeping situation which looks chaotic at the moment. SURELY even you must have seen the howlers BOTH have got away with?
? I wrote very specifically on Raya and Fleken and you directly responded to that line. Honestly. In regards to your new completely different point, again I point you to Rayas statistics and our position as the best defence in the league. Name Raya’s howlers? (Suggest you don’t but you do you.)
So obviously you Haven’t seen the howlers. I suggest you look back on your VCR.
I assumed you’d pick out the one where he was off is line as instructed and conceeded. This is not dissimilar to those who moan a player isn’t on the back post to block a goal from a corner. Reality is the player is better at not conversing to be defending the cross but eventually a goal will go in where that defender was. Similar scenario with Raya’s instructed high position, he conceded what seems like a howler but overall that positioning improves our defence. Evidence being we have the best damn defence in the entire league. But that is just my understanding of the situation. Worth noting Raya is not perfect, Arteta is not perfect but you do have to pay attention before going on one.
Rice did not have a great game. Let’s stop hyping players and read games objectively.
When Martinelli was taken out he was the most dangerous player on the field. Saka was ineffective, Odergaard was blunt, Jesus was dead on the cross, and Rice was mediocre. Ramsdale was HORRIFIC.🤦🏽♂️
Arsenal fans have to be honest; without Odergaard, Martinelli, Partey and Trossard, there’s no creativity in Arsenal. Rice is a workhorse, nothing more.
REALLY!!!! That strange, i thought he ran the show and so did the person who gave him MOM. Rediculous.
Agree Rice shows his worth.
Honest assessment. Our team certainly deserves our support, but they ought to earn it
The way we played is quite typical of us. May be that’s strategic and part of the game plan. But that’s boring and dangerous.
Creates heavy anxiety all through the 90 mins ….. we are chasing the chasing the trophy and our play should reflect this .
Mohlanka Molapo Martinelli was bad today I don’t know the match you watched. Rice was one of our best player alongside saliba.
I thought Martinelli was awful today, he didn’t produce anything.
Mohlanka, As the saying goes “there is always ONE”!
And that ONE is you!
Rice was our BEST PLAYER TODAY, BY A COUNTRY MILE.
WHAT? Declan was by far the man of the match and both Martinelli and Saka were so well marked to be infective.
Ineffective!!
Hav about that! one of many more to come, welcome to the season proper. COYG!!!
Good win today. Not the best performance by any means, but it is win that put us on top of the league. Great teams and champion teams find ways of winning matches even when it doesn’t look likely, and arsenal did that today. Ramsdale had a bad game but he still didn’t concede so that’s a plus. We won so onto the next game.
DEFENCE DIDNT CONCEDE. LETS BE HONEST. A BALL WAS BLOCKED FROM CROSDING INTO GOAL, not by Ramsdale who is claimed to have kept a clean sheet. A defender blocked the goal.
PBJECTIVITY????
The mark of champions, is when they win, despite not playing well.
That’s what happened today and, despite that, the squad stayed together, covered for each other and played like a real team.
The reaction to Havertz goal by his teammates showed exactly how they feel about him and the same goes for the reaction to Ramsdale – this is how the Invincibles reacted with each other and it’s something MA has created.
I’ve just finished reading the book entitled “IS YOURS GOLD?” about that great season and I can see the green roots starting with this squad.
Of course they are not yet anywhere near that status, but, if we continue to grind out results, the flair will come back.
Just need to bring in a CF, get Timber and Partey fit, along with White and THAT squad will do The Arsenal proud.
Ken, we are winning and playing awful. I would like to say long may it last but i do want us to play a bit better than we are. Winning is ultimately the goal. We do need to perform a bit better, in the long run. Plus, its more enjoyable when you see a beautiful game.
Agree Reggie, but we know we can play better, it just didn’t happen today.
I’m happy with the three points and being top of the league.
This is how DESPERATION sounds. Kai Havertz is not a competent enough player to wear the jersey assigned to him. He and a few others are blocking positions for young Arsenal talent rearing to break onto the big league.
See below
Like who? Havertz the failure is only 2 goals behind our Lord and saviour, Jesus. Remember Kai is NOT a striker but our striker admits scoring goals isn’t really his thing.
Jog the insert whatever words you like on. If your not being paid to write this drivel then your missing an opportunity. We are top of the league, say we are top of the league! Against City and Liverpool two of Europe’s best. Good times!
@Angus
Seems you have”being top of the league” mixed up with”winning the league”…Jus sayin 🤔
Not at all, very weird just saying. Just saying.
Eddie and Kai up front has real Poundland Wright and Bergkamp vibes to it. I’ll take it. I like them both and think there’s potential to more from both of them. I’d love to see them actually get played together consistently for 10+ games to see if they can gel as a partnership. I really think it could work out for both of them. Eddie is a natural poacher and Havertz has a flair for the dramatic.
This match demonstrated once again that Jesus is no striker. There’s a reason Pep played him as a winger; because out there he can just play his game. His defensive workrate is better than any other forward in this or any division and there isn’t the pressure on him to score the goals. I think he’d probably score more from the wing that up front.
This fixture last season we blew them away 3 nil easily, we played well in the first half but the second half we were borderline shocking. It’s hard to pinpoint what is lacking in our game that makes it a nervous watch, is it partey, is it xhaka? Was it the starting line up, why is there no creativity in our games of recent? We were not really good today even though we played 5 attacking players with Rice even joking in the attack, still we couldn’t manage 4 shots on goal let alone on target. Whatever it is Arteta needs to sort it out quickily.
Our defense on the other hand is top notch with Gabriel and William, and Tomiyasu in the mix, zinchenko was free to roam the midfield and even join in the attack because he knew his back was sealed and safe.
Top of the table
Coyg.
If it was the 90s our line-up would be a good ol’ 442 with Tierney at LB, Saka as LW, Jesus as RW, Rice and Odegaard in the middle and Havertz and Nketiah up front as a pair. I miss football when it wasn’t 4 billion sideways passes until the opposition just give up through boredom and let you score.
I agree with your last sentence.
We should be happy. Winning is the main thing. Hopefully we can play better next match but I’m so happy that we won
We can’t judge players on one game
We can’t judge a team on one poor performance. But the main thing is that we WON and are at the Top of the table.
Also this was away against Brentford. Brentford is a good team
Part of being a champion is winning matches when you are playing poorly. City doesn’t play amazing every match
Pulling out a win when you are not at your best is part of being a champion
Thought we throughly deserved to win against a good home team, they did not out muscle us nor out pace us, apart from two self inflicted mistakes, we looked solid enough I think we definitely need a “Alan Shearer” type striker to make our dominance count. Personally I’m enjoying this season so far because we are not perfect and you can see the pitfalls and potential ( we’ve have been spoilt watching City for a decade) their brand of football is so clinical and mechanical that I find their (matches) dull with their relentless consistency, Arsenal teams under Wengers best years was also vulnerable also Newcastle team under Keegan was also exciting to watch ( didn’t win anything) but I remember them with great fondness….just my thinking…
Could today’s game give Arteta a real conundrum.
What if Havertz can only score from open play when ramsdale
is playing!!!
Or what happens, if we can only score from open play, when Ramsdale and Haverz play and only against Brentford?
Am happy we won. Also Happy Harvertz has officially kicked off his arsenal carreer a goal and precious points. But, am not happy with Arteta.Why starting Jesus alongside Trossard? Even when Odegard Saka were not performing yet he kept them on.
The coach needs to give Ramsdale game time to play on Tuesday for champions league. This will glboost his morale. His jittery today is normal after being ignored for over 2 months. It shows that he is only but Huma. He needs regular games to bounce back to form. As for MOM, Harvertz deserved it at least to boost his morale.
Please, let’s I foget, is Nelson injured? If he’s not, let Arteta play him do that he not drop in form.
Congratulations boys and kudos to the coach for the precious points.
I guess MA might say that he kept Saka on for that wonderful cross and Odegaard needed the minutes with two very important games coming up in the next few days.
Ramsdale was a bag of nerves nearly cost us on 2 occasions not saying Arteta was right to bring in Raya as Ramsdale had done nothing wrong but clearly this has effected Ramsdale and showed today Raya is Arteta number 1 no doubt whatsoever can’t see Ramsdale being at Arsenal next season definitely better than a number 2 and expect him to be snapped up!
Ramsdale has to be ready whenever he is called upon. He made bad mistakes but we got away with it.
Jesus and Nketiah showed the kind of ‘Strikers’ that they are, in today’s match.😏😏😕
Havertz should be Played as our Main Striker from now till January or even the end of the season.🙂
Wouldn’t work. Havertz is no Haaland. However, if you check my other comments in this thread you will see if do believe Havertz would do very well up front with a partner. He and Eddie give of strong Poundland Wright and Bergkamp vibes.
Boring game. We were poor although we dominated possession. We definitely need a midfield player and centre forward in January. If we get a couple of top players we can win the league.
Declan Rice, William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes were all top class.
Top of the league and our German scapegoat made the goal. Love everything about it 🔴⚪️
I was pleased for Havertz. He has been really good in the sub role in other games too, notable against City. I know it is not what we paid £65 million for bit it is the best use of him for now and more performances like this will pick up his confidence.
Good to see Ramsdale get a clean sheet, even though he was lucky to get away with it. It would be great to see Arteta keep him in against Seville. Give him a few games, so we can see the real Aaron Ramsdale and be in a better position to judge who deserves the number one spot in the second half of the season.
Even though Havertz was a poor buy im extremely happy to see him get on the score sheet, hopefully he picks up some momentum from here.
Well done Havertz. Hope the goal will give him the boost he needs to come good. For now, coming off the bench as an impact sub seems to suit him.
It’s fantastic to be top of the league. We have been excellent at scraping through to win but frankly our performance was nothing to shout about. Let’s enjoy the win and continue to hope that we play better soon
Brentford are a tough team to crack. They put 11 players behind the ball and still got physicality to launch counter attacks. They are big, physical athletes and rarely get dominated and beaten at home. No matter how resilient they were, Arsenal were better. They totally controlled the proceedings and only in trouble because of individual errors. And individual brilliance kept the clean sheet. Big shout out to Declan Rice, Zinchenko, Saliba and Gabriel. Massive players.
Brentford lost to Liverpool 3-0 obviously not very tough to crack.
Difference is we have become very predictable and teams have wised up to the fact that if they limit our wide players there is not a variety of other options. Arteta is falling into a pattern of not wanting to change things hoping that we have another season like last year. Unfortunately the league got tougher this year and unless we find a way to play better/create more chances out top of the league staus maybe short lived.
Pool and City have a lot more options and both have a clear cut CF who can score goals in Haaland and Nunes or Salah
In fact Liverpool can change all 3 players upfront and still improve if starters are not playing well.
We can’t do that. The drop in quality is substantial
Let;s see what MA comes up with because this is the time to earn his wages.
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