Reiss Nelson’s early strike was enough for Arsenal to beat Brentford 1-0 and book their place in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup.
The Gunners winger was handed a rare opportunity at the Gtech Community Stadium, while Emile Smith Rowe started a competitive match for Arsenal for the first time in 499 days and Charles Sagoe Jr made his debut.
Nelson did not need to wait long to make an impression, less than eight minutes on the clock when he opened the scoring. Eddie Nketiah pounced on a loose pass, cut it back for Nelson and the the winger cooly slotted into the bottom corner.
Smith Rowe went close to doubling the lead as he drove into the box and had an effort saved, the 23-year-old making a real impression on his long-awaited return to the starting lineup.
Brentford offered very little in the first-half, but that changed after the break as they piled on the pressure in search of an equaliser.
Yoane Wissa, who wasted the only good chance the Bees created in the opening 45 minutes, continued to be frustrated in the second period. He was denied on more than one occasion by a last-ditch block, before Aaron Ramsdale, getting his chance to impress in goal, produced a stunning save to turn Wissa’s effort onto the post.
The defending from Arsenal remained desperate heading into the closing stages, despite Mikel Arteta’s attempts to regain some control by introducing the likes of Oleksandr Zinchenko and Martin Odegaard.
Keane Lewis-Potter found himself free at the back post and his effort looked set to find the far corner, only for Jakub Kiwior to slide in brilliantly and block it on the line.
The Brentford charge remained right through until the final whistle, but they could not force a penalty shootout as Arsenal maintained their unbeaten start to the season across all competitions.
