A night after the chaos of Manchester City almost capitulating during their 5‑4 victory against Fulham, Arsenal seized the opportunity to prove that they are a sturdier proposition than Pep Guardiola’s side.
The Gunners kept their eighth clean sheet of the season, despite losing another centre-back to injury, and restored their five-point advantage at the top of the Premier League by seeing off Brentford thanks to an early header from Mikel Merino and a late goal from Bukayo Saka.
It was not a pretty performance from Mikel Arteta’s side. It was not even particularly memorable. There was an enterprising start from Arsenal, who delighted the Emirates Stadium when a lovely move ended with Merino scoring for the second time in four days, but their attacking flow faded after the opening 20 minutes and they ended up leaning on their resilience after the loss of Cristhian Mosquera to injury before half-time increased their issues at the back.
A more fragile side would have wilted in those circumstances. Yet Arsenal coped without Mosquera – the unfamiliar partnership of Jurriën Timber and Piero Hincapié holding firm – and their 18-match unbeaten run in all competitions is testament to their steel, as well as how their deep squad is holding out despite the absence of key players in defence and attack.
The leaders are, of course, being stretched as the weeks go by and the fixtures pile up. Declan Rice limped off with a calf problem during the closing stages – “We need to check on him,” Arteta said of the midfielder – and it will be tougher when Arsenal visit Aston Villa on Saturday. Losing Mosquera when Gabriel Magalhães and William Saliba are already missing in central defence is clearly not ideal and, coupled with the worries over Rice, left Arteta grumbling about the schedule after a draining period.
“Give us another day [to prepare],” the manager said. “We’re all going to benefit. We’ve never had such schedule – not only in the Premier League but every competition internationally as well. It’s common sense. The players are not machines.”
Although Arteta does not have a reputation for tinkering, part of his focus has to be on preserving energy levels during this slog of a season. He cannot overplay key assets and the benefit of freshening things up was evident during a start in which Arsenal did not appear to be carrying any extra weight after facing Tottenham, Bayern Munich and Chelsea in the space of a week.
This is why Arteta invested so much in bolstering his resources last summer. Kai Havertz and Leandro Trossard are still missing up front but what a luxury it is to be able to give Eberechi Eze a breather and bring in Martin Ødegaard. There was also a rest for Saka, whose place on the right went to Madueke, while Timber dropping to the bench meant Ben White came in for his second league start of the season.
It was not a surprise that Arteta singled out White for praise. The right‑back has had a terrible time with injuries but this bustling performance was a step in the right direction. “I’m very happy for him as a human being,” said Arteta, who loved both White’s powerful defending and how the 28-year-old’s overlapping runs ensured that his partnership with Madueke clicked early on.
There were 11 minutes on the clock when they combined for the opening goal. White began the move with a lay-off to Madueke and confused Rico Henry by continuing his run. The Brentford wing-back was in clear danger. Henry watched for the dart inside from Madueke but that was a decoy. Madueke waited for help and then opened Brentford up with a drag‑back to White, who reached the byline and hung up a cross for Merino to head past Caoimhín Kelleher.
Madueke had a lively 30 minutes. Consistency is the key for the England player. He should have scored before half-time only to spurn three opportunities, and he faded before making way for Saka in the 61st minute.
Brentford, who started with Nathan Collins, Jordan Henderson, Mikel Damsgaard and Igor Thiago on the bench, had forced their way back into the contest. They almost equalised when Kevin Schade met a corner from the right, only for David Raya to tip the forward’s header on to the bar. “We caused them problems,” Keith Andrews, Brentford’s manager, said. “We made it uncomfortable.”
Arsenal were tense after an awkward fall led to Mosquera making way for Timber. Brentford could not make their physicality count. They forced a succession of set pieces but did not test Raya even after introducing Henderson, Damsgaard and Thiago. It grew tense. Riccardo Calafiori and Rice were denied by Kelleher and there were howls from the home fans when the fourth official’s board showed six added minutes.
Not to worry. Moments later Merino released Saka, who squeezed a shot past Kelleher. Arsenal did enough again.
