After Sunday’s disappointing derby draw, Mikel Arteta will have been desperate for his side to bounce back with a win away at West Londoners Brentford and win a place in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup. And that was exactly what the Arsenal manager got as his side got through with a third successive 0-1 win away from home.
Plenty of changes were made to Arsenal’s starting XI. Most notable of which was the inclusion of Charles Sagoe Jr. The 19 year old making his first appearance for the senior side following an excellent performance for the U21’s Vs Manchester United where he got 3 assists.
The game got off to the perfect start for Arsenal as Eddie Nketiah pounced on a loose ball and squared it to Reiss Nelson who tapped into the Brentford net to give his side the lead. Arsenal remained in control for the whole of the first half and could have gone into the break two to the good as Emile Smith Rowe found himself in the box with a great chance however his effort was saved by the Brentford goalkeeper.
The second half started with a lot more intensity as the first, as Brentford pushed for an equaliser. Arsenal found themselves pinned back for a lot of the action and Aaron Ramsdale was forced to make a few saves, one of which was brillaint as he tipped Wissa’s effort onto the post. Reiss Nelson brushed the post and Eddie Nketiah forced a save out of the Bees stopper but most of the action was played out in Arsenal’s half. However the Gunners backline was equal to everything thrown at them, including an excellent goal-line block from Jakub Kiwior who slid in to stop a certain goal.
Reiss Nelson’s first half opened was enough for the victory and Arsenal will travel away to West Ham in the next round
Player Ratings:
Aaron Ramsdale: 8 – A statement performance from Ramsdale who was superb with both his hands and his feet
Ben White: 6 – Ok from White who played an hour before being taken off
Takehiro Tomiyasu: 8 – The Japanese international was at centre back and was excellent making a number of strong interventions
Gabriel: 7 – Solid as ever
Jakub Kiwior: 8 – Brilliant. Some great moments in possession and made a crucial goal line block
Jorginho: 7 – Wore the armband and put in a strong captains performance both on and off the ball. Much needed after his Spurs nightmare
Kai Havertz: 6 – Won a lot of duels in the air but didn’t quite do enough on the ball
Emile Smith Rowe: 7 – His first start in almost 500 days and looked much more like himself. Very good on the ball and nearly scored
Sagoe Jr: 6 – Surprise debut, not a lot of touches but did ok when the ball came to him. A fantastic night for him and his family
Reiss Nelson: 7 – Got the winner and showed what he can do
Eddie Nketiah: – Set up Nelson’s goal and a big improvement from the derby