Result: Brentford 0-1 Arsenal
Competition: Premier League
Date: 25 November 2023
Venue: Community Stadium
Arsenal: Ramsdale, Zinchenko, Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes, Tomiyasu, Rice, Odegaard, Trossard, Saka, Martinelli, Jesus
Subs: Hein, White, Nketiah, Kiwior, Cedric, Jorginho, Nelson, Elneny, Havertz
A late header by substitute Kai Havertz helped Arsenal secure a hard-fought 1-0 win at Brentford that returned the Gunners to the top of the Premier League table.
The German had only been on the pitch for 10 minutes when he made the decisive contribution on a night when the home side had done everything in their power to frustrate Mikel Arteta on his 200th game in charge.
Pre-game
Mikel Arteta selected an attacking lineup on the occasion of his 200th match in charge of Arsenal. Gabriel Jesus, fresh from 90 minutes for Brazil in midweek, made his return from a hamstring injury to spearhead an attack alongside Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli. Behind them, Leandro Trossard was preferred to Kai Havertz in the left 8 position and Martin Odegaard made his first appearance since the Carabao Cup defeat to West Ham at the start of the month. Declan Rice anchored midfield meaning Jorginho returned to the bench. Takehiro Tomiyasu and Oleksandr Zinchenko took the full-back positions either side of Gabriel and William Saliba. With David Raya ineligible to play against his parent club, Aaron Ramsdale made his first start in the league since September.
First Half
As expected Brentford were happy to sit deep and let Arsenal have the ball. Clearly, their plan was to snap into action on turnovers but we were alive to the threat and hunted in packs to win the ball back again. It made for a frustrating and bitty half. Over and over and over, the Gunners probed but we lacked pace and cutting edge in the final third and seemed to get to the edge of the box a lot before turning back.
Chances were few and far between in the opening stages. Martinelli got under a free-kick when a flicked effort might have troubled keeper Flekken and Trossard hit over wildly from the edge of the box having been teed up by Saka.
While the outfield players looked controlled, the same could not be said of Ramsdale. It’s clear at this point that all the talk about his status in the squad is getting to him and he endured a couple of calamitous moments. On 13 minutes he left Gabriel to take a short goal-kick back to him, stumbled on the ball under pressure from Mbeumo and was thankful that Rice had raced back to the goalline to clear the danger before Wissa put the rebound wide. Arteta looked less than impressed.
Later in the half the England keeper made a total hash of a throw-out, bouncing the ball into the ground when he’d wanted to launch it long. While his teammates recovered the ball and launched an attack, Ramsdale was berating himself in his own box.
Despite the keeper’s untidiness, Arsenal did finish the half strongly. Gabriel used his back to find the side-netting from a corner before Jesus had two efforts; the first shanked wide at the near post and the second deflected upwards that forced Flekken into an awkward save.
Three minutes before half time, the Gunners thought they had the lead. Neat interplay on the edge of the box between Trossard, Odegaard and Saka ended with the England winger curling a cross into the box that Jesus met with his head. Flekken made the save by Trossard was on hand to put the loose ball into the net from on the goalline. It looked good at first sight but VAR spent an age checking whether Trossard was in front of Jesus. There were inches in it but the decision went against us.
Arsenal continued to press and worked a final chance in stoppage time that ended with Odegaard trying an inventive flick. Again, the ball trickled wide.
Second Half
Arsenal picked up where they left off with Saka and Martinelli both playing dangerous crosses into the box. The first nearly went in at the near post, the second wasn’t attacked by any players in yellow leaving the Brazilian bemused. Saka and Jesus put their hands up to apologise.
Brentford bared their teeth on 52 minutes when Wissa played in Mbeumo but his effort flashed wide without forcing Ramsdale into a save.
Martinelli saw a lot of the ball out on the left but he was well shackled by Ghoddos. In the end the Brazilian’s frustrations got the better of him and he picked up a cheap booking for a late challenge on Onyeka.
Arteta switched things up on 64 minutes sending on Nketiah for the tiring Jesus. Given his midweek minutes for his country, it wasn’t a surprising decision. Nketiah looked lively and immediately came close to meeting another dangerous Martinelli cross. He also came close to stealing the ball off Flekken in his box.
After watching Yarmoliuk fire straight at Ramsdale, Thomas Frank made two changes of his own introducing Maupay and Baptiste. Brentford started to come at us more and we were thankful for a goalline stop by Zinchenko to deny Maupay whose header from six yards looked destined for the net.
The introduction of Havertz for Martinelli meant Trossard went wide left. There was a flurry of excitement when Rice unleashed a low drive from range that deflected for a corner. Not for the first time, lots of pushing and shoving in the box left referee Tim Robinson little choice but to blow for a foul as soon as the set piece was taken.
After Nketiah squandered a chance on the break, you sensed we might have to settle for a draw but we kept plugging away. Brentford were penned in for several minutes as Rice continually recycled play and the pressure finally told. Having found nobody in particular with a number of crosses, Saka finally produced a moment of quality, picking out Havertz at the back post for the German to head home. He wheeled away to the travelling fans who finally had something to cheer. (GOAL 1-0)
On a difficult night against a stubborn opponent, we found a way. It certainly wasn’t pretty, and Arteta will want much more from his players as the fixtures come thick and fast in December, but this was a big win.
At the full time whistle, the players went straight to Ramsdale to congratulate him on the clean sheet – a lovely touch given his recent struggles – before Mikel Arteta put Havertz in a headlock and marched him over to the Gooner contingent to soak up the plaudits.
Get in
Absolutely delighted we stuck it to them in the end. Honestly, some of the least likeable fans in the Premier League. Not mocking Ramsdale for the last 5 minutes, were you, you twats.
They seemed to be booing Trossard for having celebrated scoring the goal-that-wasn’t in the first-half, or did I miss the reason?
fuck off cosmopolitan stoke
Brentford were unbeaten in each of their last 14 Premier League London derbies (W8 D6 L0), since a 3-0 home defeat by the Gunners in September 2022. Tough away match but now top!
Nice point! Not thumbing you up as you’re on 49 , a special number 🙂
Sixty million down the drain…
Arsenal legend right there! 🤩
Kai Havertz, you absolute beauty. Worth every penny!
Andy Gray kept knocking on that. Same man who keeps talking up Grealish being worth every bit of that 100M these days. Well Kai has two more goals this season. And way more since Grealish made that 100M move
We are top of the league, say we are top of the league.
Not a vintage performance but ground out a win, delighted for Kai and grateful that Ramsdale got a clean sheet.
Great performance I thought. Other than the shot from the GK error, it was just the Maupay header which also came from a stray pass deep in our half. Besides that, they got nothing from us. Whole game was played in their half. Can’t ask much more than that from the boys from an effort and organization perspective. You can question the creativity aspect but to me that’s not something to criticize the team for. They are trying, but things weren’t coming off. That’s not an effort thing, it’s so often just about getting the luck of a bounce or… Read more »
Speaking of creativity, hmmmm, we miss Partey so much, he makes a world of difference in the way we play,,, how I wish he could stay fit all through the second half of the season! That will be awesome, fingers 🤞
Happy Havertz!
In Arteta we trust- great substitutions and Kai delivers!
I just knew it would be 1-0 to the Arsenal and that Kai would get the goal. Don’t ask me how, just felt it.
felt like taking a nap the first 85 minutes of the game. then felt my heart in my throat for the last 5. top of the league!!!! but this god damn sport is gonna kill me
Ramsdale fanboys can go slink back into their holes now lol. i needed that comedy today.
Why even bother posting this?
Boooooooooooo, Rams is one of us, and his struggles should not excite any Arsenal fan, have some class.
hi SP*DS, where is your favorite team position? get back to your team
Waka Waka hey hey, forever in our shadow, spurts no trophies… again
Ramsdale was good last year and there was no reason to bring Raya in. Obviously Inaki Cana has been salivating over bringing him here for years and convinced Arteta to do it. He can fuck right off, Ramsdale is a great goalkeeper and will get his confidence back when playing regularly.
I agree with you largely. I also think we have lost a lot of verve flair and creativity to the control Arteta so much seeks this year. I really feel for Ramsdale and at this point I really can’t see us keeping him beyond this season except if something dramatic happens.
However for this morning the real news is that we are too if the pile. COYG
Seriously? Rammers is a Gooner! Clean sheet, game won. But that throw was quite funny, in hindsight of course.
You’re not a gunner are you? Embarrassing comment from a sad little troll!
Hasn’t played a competitive game for a while, went from undisputed #1 to not even being a bit part player, so clearly struggling with confidence issues. His teammates and 99.9999% of the fans know this and are happy to provide the emotional support he clearly needed for this game. Made some early clangers, but recovered, kept a clean sheet and played his part in the win and a vital 3 points. And this is the best you can come up with?
Kai Havertz: Worth every penny!
Some hacked Fatgooner’s account
🤣
Fats just does it his way!
oh no you don’t, we know what you did last summer… (and autumn, and winter)
Hehe, you always said he’d pay for himself
If we win the league by a point then absolutely, no question!
Not something you would write home about but 3 points on the road & being top of the league is all that matters now.
COYG
Brentford at home is a tough out for anyone. Big win.
Sometimes I wonder if people don’t follow this league.
They’ve lost just thrice at home since last season. Twice against Arsenal. It’s a really tough place to go.
This win goes out to the Brentford fan who did trossard’s celebration back at him when the goal was disallowed. Take that you prat.
Hahaha! Karma!
Saw that on TV and thought “that man has had too much to drink”
Anyone else get emotional at the end all the players going to hug Ramsdale?
Not really, but then I did watch the pianist last night so I spent most of my tears on that. .
Great movie!
Yes. What a guy. What a team.
Great win. Relentless to the end. Great for Ramsdale to recover from a bit of a messy first half. Even better for Havertz to get the winner.
Great result considering the ref did everything possible to prevent us building momentum or breaking at pace against a team playing like an Eddie Howe side (fouly, time wasting cunts).
What a great sight when the players showed their love for Ramsdale at the end.
hilarious to see sky sports text commentary say Arsenal’s “forgotten man” Kai Havertz scored the winner, like his form hasn’t been the main narrative of our entire season
Nah. It’s the goalkeeper narrative
Oh to See Rammers smile again!!!❤️. As for Kai, pls keep proving me wrong🙏🏼. A tired performance overall. I guess it’s the internationals. But we managed to get the 3 points. Top of the table! COYG!!!
i didn’t get to see the post match for too long, but in ramsdale i didn’t see a happy face, i saw a face of RELIEF! let’s not even start to think what would’ve been of him if brentford scored in one of those plays
Kai has looked much better in the last 5-6 games hes played. Calm and seems to get the flow of the team. Obviously he’s missed some sitters but if those start to go in (like today) he could be a really valuable player for our title push. He offers depth and certain things that others don’t. Martenelli just wasn’t working out today and definitely wouldn’t have gotten on the end of that cross. His height is a plus for sure
I’ve been watching him closely the last few games too and I like him. Near, knits things together, defensively solid, good in the air and hard working. The goals and panache will come but I feel it’s unfair people have focussed on that seeing as he’s been asked to be Xhaka’s replacement, a left 8, something he’s never been asked to do.
This is just the beginning. Kai is gonna keep coming. He’s 24 and like Odegaard, finally found a home. It might take time but he will come out of Arteta’s lab as a 10/10 per season player. It’s already happening.
The announcing from Jim Proudfoot was so biased with Kai.
“Here comes Kai Havertz.
(As if he was some unknown youth team player. The guy started our last three games!)
“Played at left back for Germany on two occasions over the week. Germany didn’t look very good!
(As if that was Kai’s fault. No mention that he scored, or that they were meaningless friendlies.)
Then the tone of resignation or disappointment when he said we are top of the league.
I know I’m a homer but this stuff is wild from a supposedly neutral announcer.
What do you expect from someone named Proudfoot?
Good Hobbit sense, that’s what
Yeah to give him his due, within five minutes of his debut effort as a left-back, he was on the scoresheet. And this in a German lineup and performance that in recent games has been full of inanimate carbon rods. Fair play really
He has looked a lot better.
some players re instinctive others are thoughtful, and others are system players
Kai is thoughtful. He has to understand where he fits
Mission accomplished, we are top babe, COYG!
Havertz you beauty, fingers crossed his, mojo is back. It wasn’t pretty, but international nonsense and all we got the 3 points which is all we’re asking for. Ramsdale’s confidence is in tatters, it’s a sad watch. He’s truly lose his smile and today left a lot of head scratching. The nonsense about Arteta not being right blur blur should stop. At present Raya is far better for this team and that is all.
Happy for the win delighted for the lads Over the moon for Kai Top of the league oh yes ! Seeing Aaron Ramsdale smile ? Priceless ! Raya is a great keeper but if his manager shot his confidence down ? Well he’d be where Rambo is !
Ultimately Artetas decision but it hasn’t exactly created a positive keeping situation.
Raya is better with his feet, and makes the team play better. Recall City had Hurt when Pep, Hurt was England number 1 but the Pep brought Bravo who was terrible with his hands but better with his feet? Arteta knew we needed more than what Rams had, if your boss at work finds you a replacement after 2 years at the job without meeting required standards would that be wrong? I love Rams, and enjoy his antics of sticking it to the oppositions fans but I don’t our love for him should cloud the fact that Raya is better… Read more »
Hurt?
Joe Hart – it probably autocorrected.
I think the manager has earned the right to make these (ruthless) decisions, but even if you agree – and I think Aaron is still young and has room to improve in the required areas, unlike Leno – the way it’s been handled with the fake “two number ones” setup has piled more unnecessary pressure on both keepers and led to the dropping of more potential bollocks than in most of last season already. A little too clever by half, you might say, and not just given how much of a justified fan favourite Aaron has been. Also, John Hurt… Read more »
Eh?
SO HAPPY TO SEE HAVERTZ NAB THE WINNER. It was a matter of time.
I have a couple questions for the stats guys:
-What percentage of our goals this season has Saka been directly involved with (G/A)?
-How many of the goals he’s not been involved with have been penalties or came from corners taken from the right side (which he doesn’t take)?
I just can’t believe Little Chili. One of our own.
i thought he had a bad game, and it’s been like that for a while now. but it’s truly remarkable how he finds a way to influence the scoresheet time and time again despite playing so poorly. in football it’s usually the opposite: players playing well but not influencing anything. he’s a special kid for sure.
Bad game? He created the first half “goal” and the second half goal, both essentially from nothing and he basically cannot touch the ball without being double or triple marked, and his FB is Tomiyasu.
He is completely carrying this team from a creative perspective, pulling rabbits out of hats time and time again.
Jesus leads, Kai finishes.
What a nailbiter!
We didn’t look like conceding at all, apart from the Ramsdale error in the first half. With such defensive solidity, we’ll always have a chance of nicking it.
I am happy for Kai. He deserves his moment in the spotlight. Long may it continue.
And how good was Rice (again) that clearance off the line was so important and we might not have taken the 3 points if we’d conceded there.
Rubbish game but we got the result we deserved.
Brentford were ridiculously negative and didn’t deserve anything.
We were very average but ground out the result. Excellent defending was the key.
THIS IS HOW YOU WIN TITLES: go away to a decent side, not concede and then nick a goal.
As for Ramsdale: 🤦♀️
You won’t hear the “great teams win ugly” from the press, though, because we’re not from manchester
It’s a weird feeling – I’m wanting to protest this efficient style of play as I enjoy the funball – but George graham and all that – I’m kind of struggling to work out which kind of a fan I am at the moment – I want entertaining football but I want titles – I want 5 nil and I want 1 nil. My genuine feeling is that we are foregoing the fun stuff to compete – I think there will probably be a price to pay if we don’t win anything and are also boring to watch – I… Read more »
Great post.
The answer is that we need to win something, preferably the Premier League. The football isn’t great but it’s going to feel fantastic if our captain is lifting that big trophy in May.
The great George Graham teams appreciated this.
When I am paying £80 to watch efficiency I’m asking questions. I agree if we’re winning titles then no one cares about the style – but again the Mourinhio curve – if it’s dogshite and there’s no titles then it’s off to Roma we go
Even with all his trouble, i think Rambo’s long ball accuracy is still better than Raya
Not a chance. That’s Raya’s superpower. It’s Raya’s short passing that’s over rated.
Sluggish. But clean sheet for Aaron thanks to 🍚
Bless you Aaron. life is ruthless but you held it together and performed. Your next team will be my second favorite team with a couple exceptions.
why start those that have traveled so far and played so much? Nelson, Eddie would have been fresher. Oh well.
Shout out to Zinchenko.
He was massive today.
“This goes out to his family”
Think we have to thank Rice for this a bit. What a player he is. And its so good to have real football back instead of that international crap we are forcefed a couple of times every year. It MUST be some time before the next break now.
He is just immense. World class.
Yeah! Top, top world class. Any team would be happy to have him. Thats how good he is. And he is only going to get better.
These bunch of indescribable lots at the PGMOL found a way to disallow that goal, by reviewing the frame that suits their narratives, not the frame where Jesus had the first contact with the ball.
It goes to tell us that we must battle every Matchday to win against the team and the PGMOL.
We must brace ourselves.
Nice one Kai Havertz, you’d definitely come good. Just trust the process.
Come on you Gunners, we’re top of the league.
Everything at the var van up in Manchester is designed to work backwards from the conclusion that they are objectively correct and above reproach, which is not a way to observe evidence and make an informed decision. It’s like arguing with a conservative.
That Trossard goal should have stood. Either there was no better angle to show Jesus’ point of contact with the ball (in which case the Tyneside ruling should have applied) or they deliberately timed it a few milliseconds after the contact so as to trip Trossard for offside. The ball is several inches off Jesus’ head in the frozen frame they used to draw the line.
Saw that did you? You are 100% correct.
In the replays you’ll notice that Jesus is clearly ahead of Trossard as the ball touches his head yet just a wee bit behind when the line is drawn. Those are two different frames a few milliseconds appart cleverly designed to appear similar.
I half expected VAR to rule out Havertz’s goal on the basis that replays conclusively showed that the goal was scored by Havertz.
Cobra Kai
The points are so precious, but the story is priceless – We go top for the first time, Havertz scores, Rammers keeps a clean sheet and his cool under some serious pressure and provocation from the stands ( the new orcs of the league) Saka finds a way to contribute yet again, and we find a way to win when clearly not at our best!
COYG!
Ødegaard, is just a bit off.But he will start flowing again
He’s been off since the start f this season. A designated creative attacker without a single assist in 13games tells the narrative. Hope he gets his last season’s mojo back because Vieira doesn’t feel like an improvement and ESR can’t seem to snap out of the injury trend.
Luckily our golden boy Saka seems quite happy to take up the slack.
BUT, when will we learn once more from Brian Clough? When you are barely ahead with minutes to go , just keep the ball ! No booting it up the pitch. No heroic goal attempts. Aim to take it to their corner flag and play keep-ball.