Arsenal returned to the top of the table with a comfortable 3-0 win over Brentford. Fifteen-year-old Ethan Nwaneri became the youngest player in Premier League’s history when he came on as a substitute in injury time. The Gunners are now a point ahead of defending champions Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur.
Arsenal reclaimed their top spot in the Premier League table just a day after Manchester City beat Wolves to get to the top spot. It was clear that Arsenal were looking for revenge for their humiliating loss in last season’s opener to Brentford.
Just 13 months ago, Arsenal were beaten 2-0 by Brentford. Arsenal looked weak and fragile and were completely dominated by the Brentford side. This time around, though, it was Brentford who faced the heat.
Arsenal dominated the entire 90 minutes
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta made three changes to the side that lost 3-1 at Old Trafford, with Martin Odegaard and Oleksandr Zinchenko missing out due to calf injuries. Brentford also made four changes to their side, with Ivan Toney included in the attack.
Center-back William Saliba gave Arsenal the lead at the 16th-minute mark, heading in an excellent corner from Saka. There was a brief delay as the referee checked if the ball had gone in.
Replays showed that the ball was well in before David Raya clawed it out. It was Saliba’s second goal of the season.
Saliba spent the previous season on loan with Marseille and was outstanding the whole season. This was arguably his best performance yet. The Frenchman was equally impressive in the defense as he provided no space to Ivan Toney.
The Brentford striker got his England call-up this week but couldn’t create anything worthwhile against Arsenal.
The Gunners doubled their lead just 11 minutes later as Brentford were poor at defending the situations. Vitaly Janelt created no pressure on Xhaka as the Swiss international was able to weigh up a cross into the box.
He found Gabriel Jesus, who generated enough power to beat Raya, who could only get his fingertips to it. This was the Brazilian’s fourth Premier League goal of the season.
At the 49th minute mark, Bukayo Saka’s pass found Fabio Vieira 25 yards out. Once again, Janelt was guilty of not even attempting to close down on Vieira. The 22-year-old took full advantage of the situation as he whipped a powerful left-foot shot that kissed the post on its way in.
The Portuguese international marked his full debut in style after Arsenal signed him from Porto for £30 million.
Ethan Nwaneri catches eyes
Arsenal brought in 19-year-old Marquinhos, who was making his Premier League debut, as a replacement for Saka. But all eyes were on the 15-year-old Ethan Nwaneri, who came in for Vieira. At 15 years and 181 days, he became the youngest player to ever feature in a Premier League game.
Nwaneri is more than six months younger than Harvey Elliott, who debuted for Fulham three years ago. The English midfielder was not even born when Arsenal moved to the Emirates in 2007.
Xhaka reacts to the win
The crowd chanted for Granit Xhaka, who was outstanding. He was wearing the captain’s armband in Odegaard’s absence. It felt symbolic as it was against Brentford last February at the Emirates that the midfielder refused to take the armband. He was stripped of the role by Arteta’s predecessor Unai Emery.
“Singing the song for me, it’s a very, very special day,” Xhaka said.
“We have a different mentality this season. We kept going and are training like we play and have class with the players that can make a difference,” Xhaka told Sky Sports.
“You have the class in the front, and they make the difference. More than happy we are in a good way but a long way to go.”
Brentford boss sees Arsenal as title contenders
“We lost the game, I hate losing,” said Brentford’s manager Thomas Frank.
“They are top of the table, so you cannot argue with that; they have done brilliant. Looking at the quality, they must be title contenders.”
Arsenal and Brentford’s upcoming fixtures
Arsenal’s comfortable 3-0 win underlines their transformation from last year. The Gunners will next face a north London derby against third-placed Tottenham Hotspur once domestic football returns after the international break.
Tottenham are riding high on Heung-min Son’s 13-minute hat-trick that helped them produce a 6-2 victory over bottom-placed Leicester City on Saturday. They’ll hope to continue the same form against Arsenal too. On the other hand, Brentford will next play Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium.
