TTSK – (Brentford 0-1 Arsenal). Premier League matchday 13. Brentford’s playing style is Arsenal’s enemy. The Gunners have never played easily when encountering the “Bees”. 

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Video Brentford 0-1 Arsenal

Mikel Arteta had his 200th match leading Arsenal and he and his students aimed to improve their away performance, having only won 1/5 of their last away matches. Since the beginning of the 2022/23 season, only 3 teams have won against Brentford on their field and one of them is Arsenal.

However, “The Gunners” entered the game with anxiety by goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale, who started instead of David Raya because Raya was still on the Brentford payroll and could not be registered. In the 13th minute, Ramsdale almost gave Brentford a goal with a clumsy footwork and lost the ball right in front of his own goal, but Declan Rice was lucky enough to block Mbeumo’s shot on the goal line.

While Arsenal appeared to be very stuck in front of Brentford’s massive defense, their goalkeeper made his teammates’ hearts skip a beat with a throw that hit the ground straight towards the home player outside the penalty area, but this time there was no danger. What danger appears? Before the end of the first half, Arsenal had consecutive opportunities, goalkeeper Flekken had to block Jesus twice, both from a shot and a header. On the second occasion, Trossard rushed to head the ball but VAR caught the Belgian star offside.

Ramsdale still hasn’t stopped making mistakes at the beginning of the second half while Arsenal became increasingly stuck in attack, forcing coach Arteta to replace Jesus with Nketiah. However, Brentford also brought in Maupay to change the attack, and in the 77th minute this striker was very close to scoring the opening goal, but Zinchenko’s leg on the goal line saved Arsenal a visible goal.

1 minute after that ball, Arteta sent Kai Havertz onto the field and the German player, who from the beginning of the season was widely criticized for his poor performance, became the hero of the “Gunners”. In the 89th minute, Saka crossed his left foot towards the far post from the right wing, and Havertz jumped past Ghoddos to head in through the gap between goalkeeper Flekken’s legs. Arsenal led 1-0 and goalkeeper Ramsdale and the away team’s defenders maintained a slim gap in extra time.

With Man City and Liverpool tied, this victory officially put Arsenal at the top of the table with 1 point ahead of Man City. This is the first time this season that Arsenal has finished in the top position.

FT: Brentford 0-1 Arsenal

Scored: Havertz 89′

Start lineups

Brentford: Flekken, Ajer, Mee, Pinnock, Janelt, Onyeka, Norgaard, Yarmolyuk, Mbeumo, Ghoddos, Wissa.

Arsenal: Ramsdale, Tomiyasu, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko, Saka, Rice, Odegaard, Gabriel Jesus, Trossard, Martinelli.

On the rankings, Brentford is ranked 11th with 16 points after 12 rounds. Brentford’s winning streak had to stop at 3 after losing 0-3 at Anfield in the most recent round. However, losing the match against Liverpool did not lower Brentford’s spirit. Returning to home field in round 13, Brentford received a lot of support from 2 victories against Burnley and West Ham. In 6 home matches in the Premier League this season, Brentford has only lost 1, drawn 3 and won 2.

On the other side of the front line, Arsenal also stood up strongly after two consecutive defeats against West Ham and Newcastle with two wins over Sevilla and Burnley. However, those were the two matches that Arsenal played at the Emirates. Arsenal’s away record is really alarming as they have lost 3 and won only 1 of the last 5 matches.

Maika

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