Arsenal climbed back to the top of the Premier League table with a 3-0 win over Brentford. The Gunners made light work of the west London club who had lost just one of their six league matches prior to the clash.
Mikel Arteta's side were dominant throughout the 90 minutes and secured their sixth win of the campaign thanks to goals from William Saliba, Gabriel Jesus and full Premier League debutant Fabio Vieira. After seven games, a defeat at Manchester United is the only stain on Arsenal's otherwise faultless record.
It means they head into the first international break of the season at the top of the division, one point ahead of Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur. Here's how the national media reported on Arsenal's win in west London.
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"This was a big win for Arsenal - and not just in terms of score line. The squad was depleted by injuries - including captain Martin Odegaard - and their last game was a 3-1 defeat at Manchester United. They had also seen Manchester City knock them off the top.
"So this felt like a response from Arteta’s side and they rose to the occasion. This season has always been about finishing in the top four but when a team wins six of their first seven games, then it has to mark them down as genuine challengers.
"That is what Arsenal appear to be now even if City are surely still in pole position as the team to beat but Gunners boss Arteta knocking his mentor Pep Guardiola off top spot must still bring its own sense of satisfaction."
"This was, as the away support gleefully reminded Ivan Toney, a stroll in the park for Arsenal. It certainly presented some departure from the night, 13 months ago, when they buckled under a battering at this venue. Brentford were quickly subdued to near silence and their new England call-up barely had a sniff thanks to a visiting defence whose performance was almost immaculate.
"Last year Toney had tweeted about a “nice kick about with the boys” after his side’s 2-0 win; this time references to playground football became especially relevant in stoppage time, when Mikel Arteta felt sufficiently assured to create a piece of history. He sent on the schoolboy Ethan Nwaneri, who had not been born when the Emirates Stadium was completed in 2006: at 15 years and 181 days old, the England under-17 international became Arsenal’s youngest-ever player and the youngest to appear for any team in the Premier League."
"It was the kind of performance Arsenal needed to state they intend to last the course and distance in this campaign, augmented by a fine goal by their new £34million signing Fabio Vieira on his full league debut as he replaced the injured Martin Odegaard in a demonstration of their strength in depth. The 22-year-old may weigh about nine stone wringing wet but he has a hammer of a shot and the name “Vieira” was revived by the supporters.
"There were also chants for Granit Xhaka, who was captain in Odegaard’s absence, and was outstanding. It felt symbolic, also, given it was against Brentford last February at the Emirates that the midfielder – who had been stripped of the role by Arteta’s predecessor Unai Emery - had refused to take the armband. “Singing the song for me, it’s a very, very special day,” Xhaka said. For Arsenal, it was."
"Arsenal climbed back to the top of the Premier League and avenged last year’s humbling at Brentford with a clinical 3-0 victory.
"The Gunners were back at the scene of their dismal opening-day defeat last season which pre-empted their worst start to a campaign for 67 years.
"But they are a different animal this term and proved it with an organised, inventive display and three well-taken goals from William Saliba, Gabriel Jesus and Fabio Vieira."
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