Which means that we’re done here. But as below, we’ve plenty going on for your delectation, so enjoy that and the rest of the weekend. Peace out.
And here’s Nick Ames’ match report.
“Arsenal have not been ‘outclassed’ by United whatsoever,” fumes Matthieu de Vallavieille. “They were significantly better than them for about three quarters of the game. United were just really good on the counter, Eriksen constantly picking up the right pass. Arsenal tend to suffer against counter-attacking outfits, like Tottenham and Man United.”
I’m not sure about that. United were “better”, I thought, prior to the disallowed goal, and I’m not sure you can say Arsenal were “better” once they were 3-1 down. I guess I also tend measure “better” in goals, think the first one came about after a decent passing move that pulled Arsenal about, not on the break, and that United’s defending was “better” for more or less the full 90. But I do agree Arsenal played well in the middle period of the game.
Wish I’d known Paul Hartley was manager of Hartlepool when he actually was. Is JR Hartley available?
BREAKING! Hartlepool have confirmed they have parted company with manager Paul Hartley. pic.twitter.com/g1xMkEgws8
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) September 18, 2022
Sky show Vieira’s goal again and Jamie Redknapp says “Patrick would be proud of that one.” He really does.
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And also going on.
Comin atcha:
Who told Fabio Vieiera his goatee looks smart? Excelllent work, whoever it was.
Full-time: Brentford 0-3 Arsenal
Arsenal go back to the top of the table! They’ve given Brentford a proper doing without really playing that well – not because they couldn’t but because they didn’t have to – and look a proper outfit. Brentford are alright too, but today, they were rank.
90+4 min And currently, he has cramp, but Don Goodman declares him player of the match, and rightly so. He’s not been brilliant because he hasn’t needed to be, but his movement has set the tone.
90+3 min “There are lots of teams this season which I have no clue where will end up,” advises Kári Tulinius. “Arsenal are another. They’ve looked so superior to teams expected to end up below them in the table, but when they played Manchester United, they were outclassed. If that game was an aberration, they could challenge for the title, if not, the Europa League beckons.”
I don’t think they’ll challenge for the title, but on the other hand, they can afford to lose the occasional game as they did to United and still do so because they’ve got good at beating all the teams they should. If Jesus stays fit, you never know.
90+2 min Here he comes! Nwaneri replaces Vieira, and Marquinhos, a sage 19, also makes his debut, coming on fro Saka.” “He’s only 15, Ethan Nwaneri, he’s only 15” sing the away end.
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90 min There’ll be four added minutes.
90 min Jesus trips Hickey and is booked, for the fourth time this season. One more in the next nine games and he’s suspended.
89 min Ah this is great. Ethan Manweri, 15-years-old and born in 2007, is going to become the youngest player to play in the Premier League (if the ball goes out of play before full-time). Go on lad!
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89 min Arsenal knock it about as Brentford do nothing.
87 min Goodness me Brentford have been a study in abjectivity today, and almost concede a fourth goal when Jesus, near the by-line down the left, wins possession from a snoozing defender, forces through a second wimpish challenge, and punches a low side-footer that Raya shoves away.
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86 min Tomiyasu continues his comeback from injury, replacing White; his “Super Tom” song, sun as he takes to the pitch, is surely one of football’s worst in its every iteration.
85 min “Fulham finish the day above both Chelsea and Brentford,” notes the entirely ambivalent Richard Hirst. “Joy unconfined in West London.”
I can’t lie, I’m staggered by how well Fulham are doing. I’ve not a clue who’s going down this term, because previously I’d have bet everything on them taking one of the spots.
83 min Ramsdale has a knock so takes his time over a goalkick; Pontus Jansson has the audacity to complain that he’s timewasting, like Brentford haven’t been hopelessly outclassed for 83 minutes and are on the cusp of a famous comeback.
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82 min “When I moved to the US,” says Gregory Phillips, “I started watching college soccer. There’s a clock on the scoreboard and it stops every time the ball goes out of play or the ref blows his whistle. Then, when time is up, it’s up. At first I hated this approach but I’ve grown to love it. Didn’t add more than 20 minutes to the whole affair, and it dispenses with the absurd subjectivity of injury time. Not that it’ll ever catch on.”
I’ve been bitching about this for years, and I agree that this is all it’ll take.
80 min Damsgaard swingS in a free-kick from the left and when there’s a scramble in the box, the ref gives a penalty for a foul on Toney, only for the linesman to signal for offside from the initial cross.
78 min I like Nketiah, who’s a really useful weapon for Arsenal to have. His all-round game has improved a lot in the last year or so, but more than that, he has a goalscorer’s intelligence, making him a great option to have.
78 min Aha, there is it. Lokonga replaces Partey and Nketiah comes on for Martinelli.
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77 min Time elapses.
76 min Brentford send on Wissa for Mbuemo.
75 min Partey slides a ball in behind for Saka, but puts too much on it. I thought Partey might’ve been removed early doors, given he’s been out, but Lokonga, his obvious replacement, is still sitting at the side.
74 min Arsenal knock it about and Brentford let them, until Onyeka fouls Martinelli. Then they knock it about some more.
72 min I was wrong – it was Brentford’s first shot on target since the fifth minute. On which point, Damsgaard looks bright, and I’d not be surprised to see him start at Bournemouth after the international break.
71 min Meantime, Damsgaard runs in behind and someone, I’m not sure who, slides a pass into the space. But Ramsdale advances well, spreading himself and blocking what I think is Brentford’s first shot on target.
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70 min There’s a minute’s applause for the Queen.
70 min Arsenal restart play with a throw deep inside the Brentford half, and Gabriel, well forward, screams for the ball, letting go a decent shot that flies not too far over the bar.
69 min Jensen either can’t continue, or it’s decided there’s no point in him continuing; Baptiste replaces him.
68 min An unscheduled drinks break, Jensen banging his knee and taking treatment. Brentford could use a few.
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66 min The away end cycles through its songbook, singing for Rocky Rocastle and about titles won at White Hart Lane – I’ve no skin in this game, but it is kind of funny they’ve done that as often than Spurs have – as Saka opens his body and shoots from 20 yards, Raya plunging right to shove away.
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64 min Damsgaard moves away from Partey and sticks a pass into the space behind the Arsenal defence, but Saliba is wise to the ruse, easing onto the gas and taking it away from Toney.
63 min Two changes for Brentford, Damsgaard and Onyeka replacing Janelt and Dasilva. That should sort it.
62 min I like the look of Saliba, I must say. Gabriel, I think, will always be a way away from proper – though he’s still decent – and I wonder if, when Tomiyasu is fit, he’ll lose his place to White. Saliba, though, has excellent raw materials and a lot of time to improve when he’s already pretty useful.
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61 min Brentford win the flick following the corner, but Saliba clears then, when the ball comes back, does so again.
60 min Brentford move down the left, Jensen, who’s been the best of an atrocious bunch, seeing his cross slid behind by Xhaka.
59 min Brentford try and counter, but Xhaka fouls Raya, of course he does, and is booked, of course he is.
59 min “Arsenal have been class,” muses PF, and he’s right – the ease with which they’ve carved Brentford apart, without going wild, has been extremely impressive, and I doubt the’ve finished scoring.
57 min This is so easy for Arsenal, and another fine move, the ball moved from side to side, suddenly speeds up when Jesus, down the left, fired a pass into Xhaka who, on the stretch, directs a fine return into space. Jesus chases onto it and number four looks likely, but Raya stands up as long as he can to block the eventuating shot.
56 min Jensen appears to clatter Partey from behind, but a replay shows that he actually slipped into him, which is presumably why he avoids a caution.
54 min “Daniel, if I made the effort to wake up at 4am to watch this match,” says Mary Waltz, “Brentford could at least pretend to try to win. All credit to Arsenal but gawd the Bees look atrocious.”
Agree. They owe you sleep, open and shut case.
53 min And Jensen rolls it back to him; he flicks up, Le Tiss-style, and whacks over the bar. One day, though, someone is just going leather a low one with their laces, with no intention of scoring but with every intention of knacking the draft excluder lying behind the wall.
51 min But now have a free-kick just outside the box. I’m not sure what it was for, but a replay shows that when they went to stick a free-kick from out wide into the box, Martinelli dragged back Mee. But before we can proceed, there’s a conference on the edge of the D, led by Toney.
51 min Brentford have been absolutely rotten today.
WHAT A GOAL! Brentford 0-3 Arsenal (Vieira 49)
Again, Arsenal move the ball under no pressure, Saka finding Vieira 25 yards out and left of centre. No one’s arsed to close him down, so he has a look, swings his left foot with minimum effort and maximum prejudice, and marks his full debut by clumping a gloooorious drive in off the near post! Arsenal are going back to the top of the league!
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49 min This looks a lot like what we just watched, Arsenal again dominating possession.
47 min “Never mind VAR,” says Angus Chisholm, '“the state of Premier League timekeeping is ridiculous. In the United vs Arsenal game there were 15 obviously lost minutes between VAR, goals and substitutions alone, yet just 6 minutes of stoppage time. It’s plainly silly and nonsensical yet nothing is said nor done about it. Go figure.”
I agree. I didn’t fall in love with the game because of its decision-making process, but because I liked watching the game. There’s no reason at all not to standardise timekeeping so that we get to see a proper one, every single time.
46 min I thought Frank might’ve made a change or two, but his starting XI get another go.
46 min We go again.
I missed Gabriel Jesus’ goal celebration – he danced on the by-line, presumably in support of Vinicius Jr. Great stuff.
Half-time joy: this thing of ours, what a thing it is.
Half-time: Brentford 0-2 Arsenal
The biggest compliment I can give Arsenal is that they’ve been competent. Brentford have been weak.
45 min There’ll be two added minutes; I’ve not a clue how you deduce that when there’ve been two goals and one period of extended treatment.
44 min Brentford are going to get a proper going-over off Thomas Frank at half-time. I can only imagine how hard it must be not to crease in that circumstance.
🗣️ "The way we absolutely destroyed Man United first half is very very impressive."
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) January 20, 2022
Thomas Frank did not hold back when giving his thoughts on last nights 3-1 defeat to #MUFC. 😅 pic.twitter.com/8GFmVz04Yy
43 min Arsenal knock it about some more – this is far too easy for them – and when Tierney is giving time on the ball, he has a look then hammer a shot over the bar.
41 min Saka, who’s been quiet so far, burrows infield off the right and creates a shooting lane, then drills into Mee.
40 min I say inexplicably, not because Arsenal aren’t a factor in that, they are, but because the lack of intensity and conviction, from the off, is entirely on the home side.
39 min There’s not much going on here, and the home crowd are becoming irate. Rightly so, too – their team have been inexplicably abject.
37 min Mbuemo wins a corner off a disgruntled Gabriel … and again, Brentford waste it. But they do maintain some pressure, aided by Jesus who tries a chapeau and loses possession to Jensen down the right. But again, the cross is poor.
36 min I wonder if Frank might consider a change of system. I still think the 5-3-2 is a decent way of playing against Arsenal, but he needs to do something to get his team going.
34 min Mbuemo finds space down the right, only for Martinelli to crunch him. This is not at all close, but for as long as Brentford have before Arsenal score again, there’s the potential for it to become so.
32 min Brentford have been so disappointing thus far, and instead of sticking it in the mixah, they go short, only to see Jesus win the ball before they can change the angle. Silly behaviour.
32 min Brentford win a couple of throws deep inside the Arsenal half, converting the second of them into a corner…
30 min This has been a really controlled performance from Arsenal so far which, in a way, has been more telling than a vintage one. A team with as many good players as they have will sometimes play well, but the ability to turn what looks like a tricky match into a cruise evidences a side that knows exactly what it’s doing.
GOAL! Brentford 0-2 Arsenal (Jesus 27)
And there is it! Arsenal move it from right to left, Tierney clips back to Xhaka, and his ball in is a fine one, dinked over the top for Jesus, alone in the centre. He’s still got work to do – there’s not much action on the delivery, to he needs to really flex his neck to punish a header into the top corner, but he does it with all the ease you’d expect of a quality player on a buzz. Brentford, though, defended that situation very poorly indeed.
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27 min Arsenal knock it about some more, and this match has that decent side v serious side look; Brentford aren’t able to threaten, and I’d expect another goal for the visitors before half-time.
25 min “It’s really confusing you talking about Wenger tactics with Henry and Vieira on the pitch,” emails Mark Hooper. “I thought I’d tuned into the 1990s.”
If only. I wish it was the 90s, I wish we could be happy, I wish, I wish, I wish that nothing would happen, as Thom Yorke didn’t sing.
24 min The Brentford fans are booing Thomas Partey every time he gets the ball.
23 min Mbeumo makes a decent run in the inside-right channel, but his square pass to Toney is underhit. That’s a waste, because the pair of them had plenty space in which to work.
21 min Gabriel is down having a knee-rub, and he looks in a bit of pain. He did, we’re shown, pull up in the warm-up, and though I think he’ll continue for the time being, I’m not certain he’ll play the 90 today.
20 min Brenford, meanwhile, will be disappointed to have conceded that goal – stick with me for further insight – the fourth header they’ve let in this season. They too are are a big side, and they didn’t make Arsenal work hard enough to score.
19 min Arsenal are a pretty physical side these days – one of the reasons things petered out under Wenger is that he deviated from his idea that football teams need big lads who run fast – and free goals like that one are a fringe benefit of Arteta reintroducing that policy.
GOAL! Brentford 0-1 Arsenal (Saliba 17)
Are you watching Steve Bould? Saka’s delivery is excellent, Saliba wins the flick-on at the near post, ahead of Toney who’s not playing proper attention, and the ball flies in, Raya’s desperate claw unable to drag it away from the line. A quick check, and ref signals the goal.
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16 min Arsenal win a corner…
15 min Bites Yer Neck carries the ball forward and finds Dasilva, but his cross is headed clear and when Arsenal counter, Toney charges back and puts it into touch.That’s great work.
13 min Big cheers as the ball goes right to Vieira and Mee hammers through ball and man in a classic vignette of “this league” action – to the former’s consternation. I’m choking up here.
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12 min …which Brentford clear easily enough.
11 min Jesus pulling left has been a feature of Arsenal’s play so far this season, and the triangle he forms with Zinchenko and Martinelli is reminiscent, in a small way, of that made by Cole, Pires and Henry. But when it happens, they sometimes lack a presence in the middle, so Vieira will need to compensate. In the meantime, though, Mee fouls Jesus on the right, so here comes the resultant free-kick…
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9 min More Arsenal possession, Jesus pulling left to make an angle down the line. But Tierney’s pass can’t find him, Brentford’s blanket defence making it hard for them to find space.
7 min Arsenal knock it about but Brentford have everyone back – which, ironically, reminds me of an Arsenal tactic under Arsene Wenger, when they’d defend corners with all 11 men so that when they countered, no one was marked and opposing defences had to contend with moving targets.
6 min Jesus roves left and collects a simple ball over the top. But he can’t cross to himself, so when the ball comes in, Brentford get it away. Already, there’s a really good tempo to this game.
5 min And again! Henry leaves White trailing and this time, Mbuemo meets his loopy cross, but can’t get much on it and again Ramsdale collects.
5 min There we go, Henry attacking the space in behind White and getting clear, but his cross, seeking Mbuemo, is overhit.
4 min …which Jansson spreads left to Henry. His cross is a decent one too, but no one gambles and attacks the front post, so Ramsdale gathers easily.
3 min Brentford win a free-kick 30 yards out, just left of centre…
2 min Superb from Arsenal, Saliba driving a low pass into Martinelli, whose first touch is brilliant, glancing a pass off to Xhaka, down the left side of the box. It looks a lot like 0-1, but instead of shooting, he cuts back a return, and just as he’s about to shoot, Martinelli slips, allowing Raya to save easily. Still, that’s a warning for the home side.
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1 min Arsenal go back to Ramsdale, who drills forward and sets them on the attack. His range of passing is excellent, but I do still have doubts about his actual goalkeeping – though at 24, he’s got plenty of time to improve it.
1 min Peeeeep! Away we go!
A minute’s silence for the Queen, followed by the national anthem.
Here come the teams, led out by managers carrying wreaths.
And how great it is to see the away fans standing, officially.
If Brentford win this, they go ninth; if Arsenal win this, they go top.
Email! “One of the many doubts, worries and general angsty preoccupations of the Arsenal fan is the state of Thomas Partey’s legs,” says Charles Antaki. “Are they fully functional, and if so for how long? What happens when he can’t play, and you don’t have somebody who can boss the ball, receive and turn, drive on and threaten? Lokonga looks a fine prospect for the middling future, but it’s all about the present, ins’t it? And specifically not getting done by the Brentford midfield.”
Yes, agree. When Arsenal were getting grief last season, the impact of his absence wasn’t, in my opinion, fully factored in. I can’t wait to see him blaze over a succession of shot from 18-25 yards.
Arsenal are warming up in their Jamaican-flag tops. They really are an exceptional leisurewear brand – 10 minutes at Carnival told me that whoever came up with this one knew exactly what they were doing.
Arteta, wearing a v-neck school jumper with tie underneath, Rangers-style, tells us that Zinchenko and Odegaard are injured, and that Nwanieri is playing because '“We are pretty short”. Sometimes, the hilarious gags write themselves.
Frank, meanwhile, confirms that he wants his team to be brave and aggressive, and that they want to turn the Community Stadium in “a fortress”. He knows Arsenal are good, and laughs that even before his England call-up, Ivan Toney was not lacking confidence.
Back to Ethan Nwaneri, I didn’t realise that he’s 15. 15! Oof madone! What happened to two-litre bottles of Strongbow in parks and on buses?
Arsenal, meanwhile, will be looking, I imagine, to get down the outsides of Brentford’s outside centre-backs, with the full-backs high and wide to keep the width. I’m sure they’ll miss Odegaard, whose ability to pick little passes into feet is so important for them, but Jesus’ ability to occupy an entire defence will give Vieira a decent target.
The more I think about it, the more this game will be decided by how well – or not – Gabriel and Saliba handle Toney and Mbuemo. The 5-3-2 makes a lot of sense in that context, because while Arsenal are improving, I’m still not sold on their back four, and I daresay Brentford will also want to have a look at Ben White, out of position at right-back.
Er, Google have Pontus Janssen playing on the right of midfield in a 4-3-3. I’ll take the L if that turns out to be so, but I can’t completely see it.
Is Aaron Hickey’s nickname “Bites yer neck”? Sorry.
This is a London derby, so here’s a London anecdote: I was in a Soho hostelry last evening, and was approached by two Welsh women, wondering if I was local. They’d expected such establishments to be populated solely by tourists, so were excited to meet someone from the area; the film rights have already been optioned.
If Nwaneri makes his debut before September 14th 2023 then he will break Fabregas’ record as Arsenal’s youngest ever player.
— Jeorge Bird (@jeorgebird) September 18, 2022
As for Arsenal, there’s good news and bad news. We knew that Oleksandr Zinchenko would miss out – Kieran Tierney is a decent alternative – but Martin Odegaard is also absent, and he’s a big loss. However, Thomas Partey begins his latest comeback, replacing Sambi Lokonga, and I’m really looking forward to getting a look at Fabio Vieira, who looked good when he came on at Old Trafford and looks to have plenty of potential.
There’s a fair bit to go on here. Brentford, who were so impressive in gubbing Leeds last time out, switch from 4-3-3 to 5-3-2, bringing in Kristoffer Ajer and Josh Dasilva for Shandon Baptiste and Keane Lewis-Potter, the Premier League’s first player to have three surnames. Their ability to switch formations in this way – they also played 5-3-2 against Manchester United – is a tribute both to Thomas Frank’s coaching and the intelligence of their players, and the contest between their front two and Arsenal’s centre-backs might well hold the key to this game.
Teams!
Brentford (a progressive 5-3-2): Raya; Hickey, Jansson, Ajer, Mee, Henry; Janelt, Jensen, Dasilva; Mbeumo, Toney. Subs: Canos, Wissa, Zanka, Ghoddos, Onyeka, Strakosha, Damsgaard, Baptiste, Roerslev.
Arsenal (a non-negotiable 4-3-3): Ramsdale; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Tierney; Partey, Xhaka, Vieira; Saka, Martinelli, Jesus. Subs: Turner, Nketiah, Holding, Tomiyasu, Lokonga, Marquinhos, Smith, Nwaneri, Lino Sousa.
Referee: David Coote (Nottinghamshire)
Preamble
Recency bias is a tedious thing, but please bear with me when I say that: in the 40 years I’ve been watching football and “this league” in particular, the standard of entertainment has never been as high as it is this season. I’m not sure there’s any time in the past that I could look at fixture such as ours this afternoon and be absolutely certain that we’re going to see a quality game of soccer, but looking at our fixture this afternoon, I’m absolutely certain that we’re going to see a quality game of soccer.
Brentford are a terrific team, bristling, canny and intense, and also won this fixture at the start of last term – in what, to Gary Neville at least, seemed like a watershed moment for both sides. In the event, he was right about them but wrong about Arsenal, who were missing all manner of player that night, but their physicality and directness will still ask interesting questions of Mikel Arteta’s men. In particular, I’m looking forward to seeing how Gabriel and William Saliba handle Ivan Toney, but all over the pitch, they’ve the players to make this a proper contest.
Arsenal, meanwhile, are growing, having somehow turned the disappointment of the run-in into pre-season momentum. I say somehow because it wasn’t a given or anything like it, but central to the change was signing of Gabriel Jesus, a rare occasion on which it was just obvious that a club had acquired a player absolutely perfect for their needs in every single aspect. But it is not just him – Martin Odegaard has stepped up a level, Granit Xhaka is revelling in his new, advanced role, and Gabriel Martinelli is improving.
That, though brings pressure. This summer, Arsenal could console themselves that, though last season ended in disappointment, significant steps had been taken; next summer, there’ll need to be solid proof, not just a nice little feeling. Brentford, meanwhile, could content themselves with survival, but now need to take things on and establish themselves as a Premier-League staple, because they’ve got everything they need for that – and more. This is going to be good.
Kick-off: 12pm BST
🗣 "There's nothing worse than thinking your team are a little bit soft. Brentford have looked at them and thought, 'yeah, we'll have you', and that's the worst feeling"
— Sky Sports (@SkySports) August 14, 2021
Gary Neville has described Arsenal as being "messed around" in their 2-0 defeat at Brentford 🔊🔛👇
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