Premier League

ARSENAL 2 (Smith Rowe 48, Saka 79)
BRENTFORD 1 (Norgaard 90+3)

ARSENAL moved to within a point of the Premier League top-four this afternoon (Saturday) with a fairly routine victory against Brentford at the Emirates Stadium.

After a frustrating first half Emile Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka finally gave the Gunners the grip on the game that their dominance deserved. And despite a late sting by the Bees, Mikel Arteta’s side held out for a 2-1 win – taking their league tally to 42 points for the season.

Heaping high praise on the Hale End Academy products, Arteta said: “Smith Rowe and Saka are players that have been raised in our system and I’m really happy they’re able to win games for us. It’s impressive for their age.”

Smith Rowe broke the deadlock just minutes into the second half, receiving the ball on the left from Alexandre Lacazette. The 21-year-old quickly set his sights on goal, curling a measured right-footed shot past Brentford goalkeeper David Raya.

Arsenal were in control, and it was clear that a second goal was on the way. But a stubborn Brentford side made the Gunners wait until the 79th minute.

Saka made it 2-0 after collecting a pass from Thomas Partey before finding the back of the net with a strike that hit the inside of the post and went in.

Brentford managed to grab a consolation in stoppage time through Christian Norgaard. The goal was first flagged for offside but VAR showed that Nørgaard was onside and the goal correctly stood.

The win leaves Arsenal sixth in the table, level on points with fifth-place West Ham, and a point behind Manchester United in fourth – but crucially with games in hand over their rivals.

Arteta said: “I think we played really well and we created so many chances and attempts on goal in the first half but we didn’t score, and in the Premier League you have to put those chances away if you want to win.

“But I think we came back in the second half again and were really convincing and scored the opening goal, and then it was just a matter of scoring the second to kill the game. It was a shame that we conceded but overall we should be happy with the result and the performance.”

Reflecting on Arsenal’s top-four chances, Arteta added: “It’s a long way to go but we are a little bit closer today because we have won our game and that’s what we have to do.

“We have to go on Thursday again against Wolves. We need to prepare really well because it’s going to be a difficult match and we’ll need to perform well to win.”

Arsenal: Ramsdale, Soares, White, Gabriel, Tierney, Partey, Xhaka, Saka, Odegaard, Smith Rowe (Pepe, 75), Lacazette (Nketiah, 84)
Substitutes not used: Leno, Tomiyasu, Tavares, Lokonga, Elneny, Holding, Hutchinson

Brentford: Raya, Ajer, Jansson, Pinnock, Canos (Ghoddos, 84), Jensen (Janelt, 44), Norgaard, Henry, Mbeumo, Wissa, Dasilva (Baptiste, 68)
Substitutes not used: Fernandez, Onyeka, Sorensen, Roerslev, Stevens, Young-Coombes