Kai Havertz scored the winner with four minutes remaining as Arsenal beat Brentford 2-1 – but the forward avoided a second yellow card for simulation in the first half.
A Declan Rice header put the Gunners ahead on 19 minutes, before Yoane Wissa showed superb work rate to deflect in an effort from Aaron Ramsdale and deflect in an equalizer in first-half stoppage-time.
Havertz dived on a challenge from Nathan Collins in the second period after being booked for a foul in the opening 45 minutes and the referee opted not to send him off.
And then, in the 86th minute, the Arsenal forward headed in Ben White’s cross to win the game for his team and send the Gunners to the top of the Premier League.
Rice’s header put Arsenal ahead before Wiesa equalized in stoppage-time
Thomas Frank made one change to the team that played in the 2–2 draw with Chelsea, as Keane Lewis-Potter replaced Sergio Reguilon in the starting eleven. Frank confirmed that the Spanish left-back is missing with a minor hamstring injury.
Mikel Arteta made two changes to his Arsenal side: David Raya, who was unavailable against his parent club, was replaced by Ramsdale; Gabriel Martinelli is also out, Leandro Trossard comes in.
The hosts dominated the early stages, with Bukayo Saka repeatedly receiving the ball and trying to reach the byline and put in crosses.
Brentford had their first chance on 10 minutes when Wissa was pulled back by Gabriel on the edge of the area. Keane Lewis-Potter’s delivery at the back post looked good, but nobody could get on to it.
The Bees had another set-piece soon after, this time a corner, but it was the North Londoners who almost created an opening from it. Christian Nørgaard’s header went straight into the arms of Ramsdale and the keeper started an immediate counter-attack with a long ball past Trossard. It looked like Belgium were on goal, but Mads Roerslev made some quick and clever saves, ultimately winning the goal kick for his team.
But the Gunners took the lead soon after, on 19 minutes, through Rice. A Ben White cross was headed deep into the box, and the England international rose high inside the penalty area to head home the opener.
Havertz had a wonderful chance to double Arsenal’s lead 10 minutes before the break. A ball was passed over Rice to the forward, who beat the offside trap and was one-on-one with Flekken. He lifted the ball over the Bees keeper, but it went wide of the far post.
And it was Brentford who delivered the final blow of the first half. Gabriel passed the ball back to Ramsdale and Wiesa pursued what appeared to be a lost cause. As the keeper gained possession inside the six-yard box, Wissa slipped as he attempted to clear, causing the ball to bounce off him and into the back of the net.
Havertz was lucky to avoid a second yellow card before scoring a late winner
Toni almost scored his first goal of the season in the 55th minute. Over the top a ball was bouncing just ahead of the centre-forward 45 yards from goal. He looked up, saw Ramsdale off his line, and hit him with the outside of his boot, but the back-pedaling Gunners stopper made a superb save to keep him out.
However, the hosts were pressing on. Several corners rained down on the Brentford goal, only for the West Londoners to consistently clear them.
Havertz was lucky to avoid a second yellow card after being booked in the first half. He dived over Collins’ challenge, but the referee decided not to send the Gunners forward for simulation.
Collins had a great chance to put the visitors 2–1 ahead when he headed in Christopher Ajer’s curling cross at close range. Again, a full-stretch Ramsdale stop prevented the Bees from taking the lead.
Rice almost doubled his tally with 15 minutes left at the Emirates as he opened his body and fired a brilliant effort into the top-right corner from the edge of the box. It beat Flekken but fell back after hitting the post.
Havertz then scored the winner with five minutes remaining. A cross from White found the German inside the area and he fired past Flekken to win the game and send the hosts to the top of the league.
Arsenal: Ramsdale, White, Saliba, Gabriel, Kiwior (Zinchenko 80), Jorginho (Jesus 70), Odegaard (Partey 90+), Rice, Saka, Havertz, Trossard (Nelson 80).
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Brentford: Flekken, Zanka (Damsgaard 90), Ajer, Collins, Roerslev, Onyeka (Yermoliuk 78), Norgaard (Jensen 34), Gennelt (Ghoddos 90), Lewis-Potter, Wisa (Maupay 78), Toney.
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Frank: Brentford fans should be incredibly proud of Arsenal’s performance
Despite the defeat, Brentford head coach Thomas Frank said how proud he was of his Bees players after an “incredible” performance against table-toppers Arsenal.
“The mentality, the effort, the change, the personality this team is showing should make all Brentford fans incredibly proud,” Frank said.
“It was incredible how much they fought for the badge against an in-form team in the Premier League. Everyone was, rightly, praising Arsenal; They have scored a lot of goals in the last seven games and we have kept them very, very, very few.
“You could argue that we had bigger chances, Nathan Collins was in at 1-1 in the second half.
“And, of course, it is very clear that (Kai) Havertz should obviously have a second yellow and then he will have a red card and he will not be able to score the winner. Then we will play 11 against 10 and that will give us an even bigger chance to win the game.
Jeannelt: We fought for each other for 90 minutes
Midfielder Vitaly Gennel expressed disappointment at Brentford’s close defeat to Arsenal, but insisted the Bees can take plenty of positives from their performance at the Emirates Stadium.
“We are disappointed,” he said. “We made a brilliant change and had a really big chance from (Christopher) Ajer’s cross for Nathan (Collins). It was a great chance to score a goal to take the lead 2-1. It was a great conversion, but we didn’t get the points.
“Right now, I don’t think the momentum is with us. Everyone expected Arsenal to win by three, four, five today because of their last results, but everyone knows how difficult it is to play against us, home or away.
“They didn’t create many chances and, for me, it was a clear yellow and then red for Havertz; This was a clear dive for me. Then he scores the winner, but that’s football.
“Visa’s goal shows how hard we work – we never stop. “Arsenal away, we still put pressure on them and did everything we could to score.”
