Mikel Arteta's men were far too good for Brentford at the Brentford Community Stadium. William Saliba gave Arsenal the lead early on and Gabriel Jesus made it two just before the half-hour. Any hopes of a Brentford comeback were extinguished early in the second period when Fabio Vieira scored from long range on his first Premier League start. After the first goal, Arsenal were extremely comfortable and fully deserved the points.
It was an open start to the contest as both teams attacked early on. Martinelli had a brilliant chance to score after three minutes when he combined with Granit Xhaka, but the Brazilian slipped at the vital moment. At the other end, Mbeumo found Josh Dasilva and his tame header was easily saved by Ramsdale in the Arsenal goal. Then, in the 17th minute, Arsenal got their lead.
Bukayo Saka put a corner to the near post which Saliba headed and the ball went in off the far post. David Raya had tried to keep the ball out, but it had already crossed the line. The goal saw Arsenal take control of the contest and Brentford hardly troubled them in the first period. Then, just before the half-hour, things got even better for Mikel Arteta's side.
Kieran Tierney played a pass to Xhaka and the Swiss put in a lovely ball for Gabriel Jesus to head across Raya into the goal. After the second goal, Arsenal kept the ball for the rest of the half and the Gunners' clinical finishing saw them go in two goals up at the interval.
September 18, 2022
The second half saw Arsenal dominate much more and Raya was kept busy in the Brentford goal. Any chance of a fightback was ended early in the second half when Saka laid off for Fabio Vieira and the Portuguese's left footed shot from 25 yards went in off the post. In fact, Arsenal, who brought on 15 year-old Ethan Nwaneri for his debut in the final few seconds, could have won by more goals.
Jesus could have scored again after a one-two with Xhaka, but the Brazilian was denied by a fine Raya save. Then, in the 66th minute, Saka hit a curling shot which was brilliantly stopped by the goalkeeper and, in the closing stages, Jesus dispossessed a defender and then saw his strike saved by the Spanish shot-stopper.
At the other end, Brentford offered little in attack. Ivan Toney scooped an effort over the bar from a free-kick while Damsgaard had the clearest opportunity for the Bees during the minute's applause for the Queen in the 71st minute, but Ramsdale made the stop. In the end, Thomas Frank's men were clearly second best and they remain in ninth going into the international break.