Brentford 1-3 Arsenal: Gunners blow Bees away with devastating second-half display to close gap on leaders Liverpool
Whether it was waking up from a hangover on New Year’s Eve, or an exuberant half-time performance from Mikel Arteta, Arsenal had stepped up a gear.
The stagnation on the ball, lack of pace and, in the case of David Raya, bad mistakes from the first half had been ironed out.
It was a set-piece – Arsenal’s tenth league goal this season via the trick – and Ethan Nwaneri who were the main architects of a win that puts the north London club on track for 2025.
Trailing leaders Liverpool by nine points going into the match, which has a game in hand, the Gunners could hardly afford to drop any more points here.
If you did, you would almost have handed the title over to Arne Slot’s men as a late Christmas present. Arsenal are far from perfect and will need to improve as the season progresses if they really want to take over the Reds before the end of the season.
But there were also promising results, such as Nwaneri’s commitment to the task ahead. In his first Premier League start, he was partially involved in both of Arsenal’s second-half goals.
Bryan Mbeumo scored his ninth home goal with a fine finish from the right
Gabriel Jesus found the net in consecutive games for the Gunners for the first time since 2023
Arsenal shot ahead with a Mikel Merino strike after another set-piece routine
His corner in the 50th minute was flicked by goalkeeper Mark Fleken, who made a mess of it. Gabriel Jesus hit the ball, which deflected off Sepp Van Den Berg and into the path of Mikel Merino who scored.
Just four minutes later, Nwaneri nodded in and curled a cross into the penalty area. Nathan Collins headed the ball to Gabriel Martinelli who scored.
They were the actions of a 17-year-old who, having seen fellow academy mate Myles Lewis-Skelly rise to prominence in his three recent successive league starts, is keen to make his own mark.
Nwaneri became the youngest ever Premier League player, aged 15 years and 181 days, against Brentford on 18 September 2022. This was his first start in the competition, more than two years later. Some wait.
Bukayo Saka’s injury has left a gaping hole on the right wing that someone must look to fill. This was Nwaneri’s big audition for the lead role – and while there’s still more to come from him, he certainly tipped his hat.
More broadly, Raya, who is arguably the best goalkeeper in the league, had a performance that he knows was well outside his usual standards.
An errant Martin Odegaard pass was intercepted by Christian Norgaard. The Bees captain drove forward to release Bryan Mbeumo as he came in from the right with Riccardo Calafiori in front of him.
The Italian retreated aimlessly, giving Mbeumo a clear goal. He sneaked the ball into Raya’s near post with a left-footed shot on the edge of the penalty area.
Gabriel Martinelli grabbed a confidence-boosting goal to send the traveling fans into panic
Arteta’s team selection for the north London club’s first match of 2025 took everyone by surprise
Raya’s positioning should have been better. But things were about to get worse for him. Keane Lewis-Potter’s shot, straight at the Spaniard, went through the goalkeeper’s hands.
Time seemed to have stood still as Raya sprinted towards his goal line and, with a spectacular diving claw move, wrested the ball off the line.
It was a bad mistake made up for by the spectacular. Luckily for him, those mistakes weren’t costly: Gabriel Jesus scored in the first half to level the game at halftime.
This was Raya’s first game against his former employers – he was not eligible to face Brentford last season as he was on loan at the club – and the home fans relished his setback.
Arteta’s team selection for the north London club’s first match of 2025 took everyone by surprise.
Kai Havertz was left out of the squad due to illness with a bug hitting a number of team members, Declan Rice started on the bench due to fitness management and teenager Lewis-Skelly was dropped for Riccardo Calafiori.
Havertz’s absence, reportedly due to illness, was a major blow for the Gunners. He is a key source of their goals.
Arsenal started brightly and boxed the opponent in their own half. Jesus enjoyed the ball a lot in the first ten minutes, playing the ball across both sides of the penalty area.
In his first Premier League start, Ethan Nwaneri was partially involved in both of Arsenal’s second-half goals
This was David Raya’s first match against his former employers and the home fans reveled in his misfortune in the first half
The Bees accepted ceding possession as they felt there would be chances on the counter-attack. That turned out to be true, Mbeumo was released by Damsgaard and put Brentford ahead after 13 minutes.
That lead was almost doubled just before the half hour. Keane Lewis-Potter’s shot, straight at Raya, was spilled by the Spaniard before the last-ditch dive on the line.
The Gunners finally started to kick into gear and got back into the match through, essentially, a human pinball game. The ball rebounded in all kinds of ways before Thomas Partey fired a shot at goalkeeper Mark Fleken.
He spilled the ball and Jesus finished with a diving header.
That sparked Arsenal’s rejuvenation thanks to those two goals within eight minutes of the break.
Martinelli grew into the match and marched forward with vim as the visitors thrived from the opening gaps their healthy lead provided.
In the end it was simple for the visitors. But Arteta will know his side can build on this into 2025.