Arsenal 2-1 Brentford: Kai Havertz winner sends Gunners top of Premier League after Aaron Ramsdale error

[Pelican Press 0]

Arsenal 2-1 Brentford: Kai Havertz winner sends Gunners top of Premier League after Aaron Ramsdale error

Kai Havertz has scored in four consecutive Premier League appearances for the first time

Kai Havertz spared Aaron Ramsdale’s blushes as Arsenal earned a statement win over Brentford which puts them top of the Premier League before title rivals Liverpool and Manchester City meet on Sunday.

Arsenal, looking to lead the table for the first time since December, went in front through Declan Rice’s flicked header.

The home side continued to dominate possession and Havertz skewed wide their best opportunity to go further ahead.

But, out of nowhere, the good work in an assured first-half performance was undone by Ramsdale’s error.

The England keeper, playing because David Raya was ineligible against his parent club, dallied over a clearance and allowed a sliding Yoane Wissa to score.

Arsenal pushed for a second-half winner without much luck until Havertz popped up in space to head in Ben White’s cross.

Havertz scored in his fourth consecutive Premier League game to put Arsenal a point clear of Liverpool and two ahead of Manchester City.

It led to joyous celebrations at Emirates Stadium, although the Gunners know their title rivals have the chance to go back above them at Anfield on Sunday.

Different performance but same result for Arsenal

What has been so impressive about Arsenal’s sparkling run to the summit is the way they have torn their opponents apart.

Thirty-one goals in seven league wins at the start of 2024 was indicative of their attacking quality, while their refusal to show any mercy once in command demonstrated a ruthless mindset.

But their eighth win in a row required a different type of mentality.

Before the visit of struggling Brentford, Gunners boss Mikel Arteta talked about his side playing with the “same energy, determination and character” as they had in blowing away the likes of West Ham, Burnley, Newcastle and Sheffield *******.

Arteta stressed how they needed to earn the right to win the game – and that is eventually what they did.

It was a completely different performance to the type Arsenal have produced in recent weeks – needing to dig in, stay patient and take the big opportunity when it arrived.

The wisdom in signing Chelsea’s deep-lying forward Havertz instead of a more recognised striker has been regularly questioned, but the ******* proved his worth once again.

Havertz, who also scored a late winner in Arsenal’s 1-0 victory at Brentford, continued to answer any lingering critics with another goal which could prove vital when the champions are decided in May.

What had been a tense atmosphere inside the Emirates instantly became celebratory, with the home fans eventually feeling confident enough to sing “We are top of the league” in the eighth minute of stoppage time.

No-one more relieved than Ramsdale

The sight of Ramsdale cupping his ear towards the Brentford fans after Havertz’s winner was a clear indication of his relief.

The 25-year-old has been considered unfortunate by many to have lost his place as Arsenal’s first-choice goalkeeper following Raya’s arrival last summer.

With the on-loan Spaniard unavailable against his parent club, Ramsdale had the opportunity to demonstrate why he should not have been discarded by Arteta.

However, the monumental error which led to Brentford’s equaliser only serves to further justify his manager’s stance.

Arsenal were in utter control when Ramsdale allowed Brentford back into the game, dawdling on a backpass under little pressure and taking an extra touch which allowed a sliding Wissa to block the attempted clearance.

Ramsdale could only watch aghast as the ball looped back into his goal, leaving him looking distraught and stunning the 65,000 home fans into silence.

Sympathetic team-mates comforted Ramsdale when he returned to the dressing room at the half-time whistle, and he showed after the break what he can bring to the team.

Ramsdale had to be alert to push over an audacious long-range effort from Ivan Toney, and reacted quickly to deny Nathan Collins with a free header, to stop Arsenal falling 2-1 behind.

Those saves ***** the foundations for Arsenal to go on and nick a late winner, with Ramsdale eventually able to smile after the final whistle.

More to follow.

Player of the match

RiceDeclan Rice

Brentford

1. Squad number20Player nameAjer

2. Squad number1Player nameFlekken

3. Squad number22Player nameCollins

4. Squad number17Player nameToney

5. Squad number30Player nameRoerslev

6. Squad number13Player nameM Jorgensen

7. Squad number6Player nameNørgaard

8. Squad number15Player nameOnyeka

9. Squad number11Player nameWissa

10. Squad number23Player nameLewis-Potter

11. Squad number24Player nameDamsgaard

12. Squad number27Player nameJanelt

13. Squad number8Player nameJensen

14. Squad number14Player nameGhoddos

15. Squad number33Player nameYarmoliuk

16. Squad number7Player nameMaupay

Line-ups

Arsenal

Formation 4-3-3

1Ramsdale

4White2Saliba6Gabriel15Kiwior

8Ødegaard20Jorginho41Rice

7Saka29Havertz19Trossard

• 1Ramsdale
• 4White
• 2Saliba
• 6GabrielBooked at 10mins
• 15KiwiorSubstituted forZinchenkoat 79′minutes
• 8ØdegaardSubstituted forParteyat 90+5′minutes
• 20JorginhoSubstituted forGabriel ******at 70′minutes
• 41Rice
• 7Saka
• 29HavertzBooked at 45mins
• 19TrossardSubstituted forNelsonat 79′minutes

Substitutes

• 5Partey
• 9Gabriel ******
• 10Smith Rowe
• 14Nketiah
• 17Cédric Soares
• 21Fábio Vieira
• 24Nelson
• 31Hein
• 35Zinchenko

Brentford

Formation 3-5-2

1Flekken

13M Jorgensen20Ajer22Collins

30Roerslev15Onyeka6Nørgaard27Janelt23Lewis-Potter

17Toney11Wissa

• 1Flekken
• 13M JorgensenBooked at 21minsSubstituted forDamsgaardat 90′minutes
• 20Ajer
• 22CollinsBooked at 90mins
• 30Roerslev
• 15OnyekaBooked at 4minsSubstituted forYarmoliukat 78′minutes
• 6NørgaardSubstituted forJensenat 34′minutes
• 27JaneltSubstituted forGhoddosat 90′minutes
• 23Lewis-Potter
• 17Toney
• 11WissaBooked at 72minsSubstituted forMaupayat 78′minutes

Substitutes

• 7Maupay
• 8Jensen
• 14Ghoddos
• 21Strakosha
• 24Damsgaard
• 26Baptiste
• 33Yarmoliuk
• 36Kim
• 50Arthur

Referee:

Robert Jones

Attendance:

60,331

Live Text

1. Match ends, Arsenal 2, Brentford 1.

2. Second Half ends, Arsenal 2, Brentford 1.

3. Attempt blocked. Bukayo Saka (Arsenal) right footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Reiss Nelson.

4. Nathan Collins (Brentford) is shown the yellow card.

5. Gabriel Magalhães (Arsenal) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

6. Foul by Saman Ghoddos (Brentford).

7. Thomas Partey (Arsenal) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

8. Foul by Mikkel Damsgaard (Brentford).

9. Substitution, Arsenal. Thomas Partey replaces Martin Ødegaard.

10. Gabriel Magalhães (Arsenal) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

11. Foul by Ivan Toney (Brentford).

12. Substitution, Brentford. Saman Ghoddos replaces Vitaly Janelt.

13. Substitution, Brentford. Mikkel Damsgaard replaces Zanka.

14. Gabriel ****** (Arsenal) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

15. Foul by Kristoffer Ajer (Brentford).

16. Goal! Arsenal 2, Brentford 1. Kai Havertz (Arsenal) header from very close range to the top right corner. Assisted by Ben White with a cross.

17. Kai Havertz (Arsenal) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

18. Foul by Kristoffer Ajer (Brentford).

19. Substitution, Arsenal. Oleksandr Zinchenko replaces Jakub Kiwior.

20. Substitution, Arsenal. Reiss Nelson replaces Leandro Trossard.

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