Arsenal secured a 2–0 victory over Brentford in the Premier League on Wednesday night, restoring their lead atop the Premier League table to five points over Manchester City.
Mikel Arteta’s Gunners are now 18 games unbeaten across all competitions since their last defeat against Liverpool back in August, and never really looked in much trouble here.
With Arteta not risking Viktor Gyökeres form the start, Mikel Merino’s second goal in as many games was ultimately enough to secure maximum points, before Bukayo Saka added a late Arsenal second.
Arsenal Player Ratings vs. Brentford (4-2-3-1)
GK: David Raya—8.2: Played his part in recording another clean sheet, tipping a Kevin Schade header onto the crossbar at a crucial point of the game. It was the only save required.
RB: Ben White—8.4: This was a rare opportunity to impress in the Premier League and he took it. Got forward confidently and to good effect.
CB: Cristhian Mosquera—6.7: Forced off injured in the closing stages of the first half.
CB: Piero Hincapié—7.6: Comfortable on the ball and increasingly coming to terms with the demands. Appeared to pass a concussion assessment late in the game to carry on.
LB: Riccardo Calafiori—8.1: A colossal defensive force on his side of the pitch, shutting the Bees down. Forced a good save out of Caoimhín Kelleher near the end.
CM: Martin Ødegaard (c)—7.4: Back in the starting XI for the first time since his recovery from injury. Not up to full speed and sharpness but tidy with the ball.
CM: Martín Zubimendi—7.4: Kept possession ticking over when he had the ball, without ever contributing much creatively. Screened the back four to limit what Brentford could do.
CM: Declan Rice—7.5: A shot from distance had Kelleher scrambling in the second half and was always looking for a pass forward into dangerous areas. Seeing him hobble off is a concern.
RW: Noni Madueke—7.2: Made the breakthrough goal possible with a really clever backheel into the path of the overlapping White. A first half threat, but his minutes are being managed after injury.
ST: Mikel Merino—8.6: Another game as a stand-in striker, another goal. He’s actually learned the position really well and is moving like a seasoned No. 9. Ought to have scored a second too.
LW: Gabriel Martinelli—6.5: Fired a first half effort over the bar, but fans probably want to see more consistent involvement of a higher quality.
| Substitute | Rating (Out of 10) |
|---|---|
| Jurriën Timber (44’ for Mosquera) | 6.3 |
| Bukayo Saka (61’ for Madueke) | 7.3 |
| Eberechi Eze (61’ for Martinelli) | 6.8 |
| Viktor Gyökeres (83’ for Rice) | N/A |
Subs not used: Kepa Arrizabalaga (GK), Myles Lewis-Skelly, Christian Nørgaard, Ethan Nwaneri, Gabriel Jesus.
Brentford (3-5-2)
Starting XI: Caoimhín Kelleher; Kristoffer Ajer, Ethan Pinnock, Sepp van den Berg; Michael Kayode, Yehor Yarmolyuk, Vitaly Janelt, Mathias Jensen, Rico Henry; Dango Ouattara, Kevin Schade.
Subs used: Igor Thiago, Jordan Henderson, Mikkel Damsgaard, Keane Lewis-Potter, Nathan Collins.
Player of the Match: Mikel Merino
Arsneal 2–0 Brentford—How It Unfolded at the Emirates Stadium
It wasn’t a rip-roaring start to the game in north London, with neither side threatening the other’s goal until Merino headed Arsenal into an early lead 11 minutes in.
After finding the net with his head against Chelsea at the weekend, the Spaniard was in the right place at the right time to drive the ball down into the ground with his forehead a few yard from goal. It was made by a delicious piece of skill from Noni Madueke on the right, with Ben White providing the final cross into the middle.
That sparked more life into the contest and Madueke almost doubled Arsenal’s lead not long after, testing Brentford goalkeeper Caoimhín Kelleher. The winger was a chief source of danger through the opening half an hour, later delivering a ball to Gabriel Martinelli that the Brazilian fired over.
In between those two Madueke moments, however, there was a warning sign when the visitors rattled the crossbar through Kevin Schade’s header—via David Raya’s reactive fingertips. The Bees, playing without rested top scorer Igor Thiago, were otherwise limited, failing to test Arsenal’s still new centre back pairing of Piero Hincapié and Cristhian Mosquera. The latter went off injured before half time.
Brentford began the second period with a bit more vigour, although that sudden assertiveness didn’t translate into final third quality to test the Gunners defensively.
Little more had happened by the hour mark, but sensing his team were still very much in the game, Keith Andrews turned to Thiago from the bench, as well as Jordan Henderson and creator Mikkel Damsgaard. Arteta responded by immediately turning to Saka and Eberechi Eze.
With around 20 minutes to play, Merino ought to have doubled his personal tally for the night and Arsenal’s lead. When Kelleher parried a low strike from Declan Rice, the rebound fell for Merino, only for him to stumble as he stretched for the loose ball and knock it out of play.
Although retaining control of the game, the Gunners didn’t create too much more to speak of until Saka missed in a similar vein to Merino had done. This time, Riccardo Calafiori was the player who’d had the initial effort saved after a clever feint created the space to shoot, with Saka unable to generate power on the rebound. He soon made up for it with the late second, handed a slice of fortune as Kelleher’s parry took the power off the shot but didn’t stop it bouncing in anyway.
The only blots on an otherwise solid evening were the losses of Mosquera and Rice to injuries in either half and Hincapié needing a concussion assessment.
Arsenal vs. Brentford Half-Time Stats
| Statistic | Arsenal | Brentford |
|---|---|---|
| Possession | 67% | 33% |
| Expected Goals (xG) | 0.61 | 0.27 |
| Total Shots | 8 | 3 |
| Shots on Target | 2 | 1 |
| Big Chances | 2 | 1 |
| Passing Accuracy | 86% | 71% |
| Fouls Committed | 5 | 6 |
| Corners | 4 | 4 |
Arsenal vs. Brentford Full-Time Stats
| Statistic | Arsenal | Brentford |
|---|---|---|
| Possession | 62% | 38% |
| Expected Goals (xG) | 1.72 | 0.34 |
| Total Shots | 15 | 6 |
| Shots on Target | 7 | 1 |
| Big Chances | 4 | 1 |
| Passing Accuracy | 84% | 76% |
| Fouls Committed | 7 | 9 |
| Corners | 4 | 8d |
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Arsenal Player Ratings vs. Brentford: Gunners Claim Victory As Mikel Merino Steps Up Again.
