Arsenal substitute Kai Havertz scored a late winner against Brentford to send Mikel Arteta’s side top of the Premier League table. The result will be tough for the Bees to stomach, having stood firm until the dying minutes of the game, and as the dust settles, Express Sport takes you through four of the contest’s key talking points…
Havertz bails out Ramsdale
It’s been a rocky start to life in north London for £65million man Kai Havertz. Many Arsenal fans had lost patience with his uninspiring displays long before kick-off against Brentford, and the German had to make do with a spot on the bench.
He certainly made an impact after coming on, however, with his back-post header in the 89th minute creeping through the legs of Mark Flekken and sending the travelling Arsenal fans wild.
Havertz’s biggest moment in an Arsenal shirt also served to bail out Aaron Ramsdale, who was facing the prospect of scathing post-match criticism after a shaky first-half display.
The England international, starting due to David Raya’s ineligibility against his parent club, began like a player completely devoid of confidence. A woeful early mistake presented Yoane Wissa with a gilt-edged chance which was cleared off the line by Declan Rice, and a wayward throw gave the Bees another opportunity to attack before the interval.
Short on patience, Arteta was spotted asking Ramsdale to abandon his short-goal-kick routine, before reacting angrily and shaking his head when he went ahead with it anyway.
Ramsdale operated on steadier legs in the second half, and Havertz’s dramatic late goal will divert much of the conversation away from what was otherwise a troubling night at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Rice takes charge
With Jorginho demoted to the bench, Rice was able to take his spot in the base of Arteta’s midfield. Arsenal fans are running out of ways to compliment the £105million signing, and he again showed why against the Bees.
His commanding display started with a mesmerising clearance off the line which got Ramsdale out of jail. Rice dragged the team forward at every possible opportunity, and also played his part in the winner which gave Arsenal all three points late on.
Frank nails the tactics… almost
It wasn’t pretty from Brentford, but it was certainly effective – for 89 minutes at least. When Arsenal came forward, all 11 of Thomas Frank’s players gathered either inside the box or within touching distance of it, but the manager’s park-the-bus routine was perfectly thought out.
With defence and attack separated by only a few yards while out of possession, Arteta’s central creators – namely Martin Odegaard and Trossard – had no room in which to operate. The Gunners were forced to go wide or direct as a result, which saw them fail to break the hosts down until the dying embers of the game.
