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Kai Havertz scored the winning goal with four minutes remaining as Arsenal beat Brentford 2-1, but only after the striker avoided a second yellow card for simulation early in the half.
A Declan Rice header put the Gunners ahead in the 19th minute, before Yoane Wissa showed great work rate and tried to close down Aaron Ramsdale and derail the tie in first-half stoppage time.
Havertz, after being booked for a foul in the first 45 minutes, jumped on Nathan Collins’ challenge in the second half and the referee opted not to send him off.
And then, in the 86th minute, the Arsenal striker headed in Ben White’s cross to win the game for his team and send the Gunners to the top of the Premier League.
Rice’s header puts Arsenal ahead before Wissa equalizes in injury time
Thomas Frank made one change to the team that drew 2-2 with Chelsea, as Keane Lewis-Potter replaced Sergio Reguilón in the starting XI. Frank confirmed that the Spanish left back was out due to a slight injury to his femoral biceps.
Mikel Arteta made two changes to his Arsenal team: David Raya, unavailable against his parent club, was replaced by Ramsdale; Gabriel Martinelli also retired and Leandro Trossard entered.
The hosts dominated possession in the early stages, with Bukayo Saka frequently receiving the ball and attempting to get to the byline and cross.
Brentford’s first chance came in the 10th minute, when Gabriel stopped Wissa on the edge of the area. Keane Lewis-Potter’s delivery to the far post looked good, but no one could finish it.
The Bees had another set piece soon after, this time in a corner, but it was the north Londoners who almost breached it. Christian Nørgaard’s header went straight into Ramsdale’s arms and the goalkeeper started an instant counterattack with a long ball that found its way to Trossard. It looked like the Belgian was in on the goal, except for some quick and intelligent defending from Mads Roerslev, who finally won a goal kick for his team.
But the Gunners took the lead shortly after, in the 19th minute, thanks to Rice. Ben White’s cross entered the box from deep and the England international rose highest inside the penalty area to head home the first goal.
Havertz had a great chance to double Arsenal’s lead 10 minutes before half-time. A ball over Rice reached the striker, who beat the offside trap and found himself one on one with Flekken. He lifted the ball over the Bees goalkeeper but narrowly missed the far post.
And it was Brentford who dealt the final blow of the first half. Gabriel threw a pass to Ramsdale and Wissa chased down what appeared to be a lost cause. While the goalkeeper had possession inside the six-yard box, Wissa slipped while trying to clear, causing the ball to deflect away from him and into the back of the net.
Havertz was lucky to avoid a second yellow card before scoring the late goal
Toney almost scored one of the goals of the season in the 55th minute. An overhead ball bounced just in front of the center forward, 45 meters from the goal. He looked up, saw Ramsdale off his line and hit him with the outside of his boot, but a great save from the retreating Gunners stopper kept him out.
But the locals pressed. Multiple corners rained down on the Brentford goal, only to be continually cleared by the west Londoners.
Havertz was lucky to escape a second yellow card after being booked in the first half. He pounced on Collins’ challenge but the referee decided not to send the Gunners into the simulation.
Collins had a fantastic chance to make it 2-1 for the visitors when he headed in Kristoffer Ajer’s cross from close range. Once again a complete stop by Ramsdale prevented the Bees from taking the lead.
Rice almost doubled his tally with 15 minutes remaining at the Emirates, when he opened his body and fired a fantastic shot from the edge of the area into the top right corner. He beat Flekken but crashed into the post.
Havertz then scored the winning goal with five minutes remaining. White’s cross found the German inside the area and he headed past Flekken to win the match and send the hosts to the top of the league.
Arsenal: Ramsdale, White, Saliba, Gabriel, Kiwior (Zinchenko 80), Jorginho (Jesus 70), Ødegaard (Partey 90+), Rice, Saka, Havertz, Trossard (Nelson 80)
Unused subs: Hein, Cédric, Vieira, Smith Rowe, Nketiah
Brentford: Flekken, Zanka (Damsgaard 90), Ajer, Collins, Roerslev, Oneyka (Yarmoliuk 78), Nørgaard (Jensen 34), Janelt (Ghoddos 90), Lewis-Potter, Wissa (Maupay 78), Toney
Unused subs: Strakosha, Ji-soo, Arthur, Baptiste
Attendance: 60,331
Frank: Arsenal’s performance should make Brentford fans incredibly proud
Despite the defeat, Brentford head coach Thomas Frank stated how proud he was of his Bees players after an “incredible” performance against leaders Arsenal.
“The mentality, effort, change and personality this team is showing should make all Brentford fans incredibly proud,” Frank said.
“It was incredible how hard they fought for the badge, against a team in form in the Premier League. Everyone was rightly praising Arsenal; However, they have scored a lot of goals in the last seven games and we have kept them to a minimum.
“You could argue we had the biggest chance, with Nathan Collins going 1-1 in the second half.
“And, of course, it is very clear that [Kai] Havertz should have a clear second yellow and then receive a red card and fail to score the winning goal. “Then we would play 11 against 10 and that would have given us even more chances to win the game.”
Janelt: We fought for each other for 90 minutes.
Midfielder Vitaly Janelt expressed his frustration at Brentford’s narrow defeat to Arsenal but insisted the Bees can take many positives from their performance at the Emirates Stadium.
“We are disappointed,” he said. “We made a big change and had a great opportunity for Nathan. [Collins] of a cross [Kristoffer] Ajer. It was a great scoring opportunity to lead 2-1. It was a big change, but we didn’t get the points.
“Right now, I don’t think the momentum is with us. Everyone expected Arsenal to win by three, four or five today because of their recent results, but everyone knows how difficult it is to play against us, whether at home or away.
“They didn’t create many chances and, for me, it was a clear yellow and then a red for Havertz; It was a clear dive for me. Then he scores the winning goal, but that’s football.
“Wissa’s goal shows how hard we work: we never stop. “Away from Arsenal, we still put high pressure on them and tried everything to score.”
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