Gabriel Jesus, Mikel Merino, and Gabriel Martinelli scored to lead Arsenal to a 3-1 comeback win over Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium on New Year’s Day.
[ MORE: Arteta, Martinelli, Jesus react to win ]
Bryan Mbeumo had put the Bees ahead after 13 minutes but the Gunners leveled the score before halftime and connected for quickfire goals early in the second half to move back in second place on the Premier League table.
Arsenal sit six points behind Liverpool, who have played one fewer game than everyone but Everton this Premier League season.
Brentford remain 12th with 24 points.
Gabriel Jesus stays fit, keeps firing
Gabriel Jesus has followed up his five goals in four days against Crystal Palace in two competitions by continuing to flash his finishing boots. Jesus scored from a silly angle in the 1-0 win over Ipswich Town but saw the marker taken off the board by officials, and he got the ball over the line again on Wednesday. We’ve mentioned this before, but it bears repeating — don’t forget how good Arsenal were when Jesus first found his best form and helped drive the Gunners’ first title push under Mikel Arteta. He may not always have the most expressive face on the pitch, but he knows his way around a title race and — along with Oleksandr Zinchenko — has won titles with Arteta at Man City. Don’t sleep on Jesus.
Brentford vs Arsenal player ratings
(from fotmob.com)
Brentford vs Arsenal player ratings (from fotmob.com)
Brentford vs Arsenal player ratings (from fotmob.com)
What’s next?
Arsenal go to Brighton at 12:30pm ET Saturday in the Premier League, then host Arsenal in the first leg of the League Cup semifinal on Tuesday afternoon.
Brentford visit Southampton at 10am Saturday.
How to watch Brentford vs Arsenal live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 12:30pm ET Wednesday (January 1)
Venue: Gtech Community Stadium — London
TV Channel: USA
Streaming: Watch live on NBC.com
Brentford vs Arsenal final score: 1-3
Bryan Mbeumo 13', Gabriel Jesus 29', Mikel Merino 50', Gabriel Martinelli 53'
Brentford vs Arsenal live updates — By Nick Mendola
Full time stats — Brentford 1-3 Arsenal
Possession finishes 50:50, but the game certainly wasn’t a coin toss.
Arsenal took 14 of the game’s 19 shots and won the xG ‘competition’ by 1.95-0.29.
David Raya only had to deal with two Brentford shots on target.
Subs
A quadruple sub for Brentford is followed by three Arsenal moves.
Damsgaard, Yoane Wissa, Sepp van den Berg, and Christian Norgaard exit in favor of Paris Maghoma, Kevin Schade, Ji-Soo Kim, and Mathias Jensen.
Arsenal remove Calafiori, Nwaneri, and Merino for Myles Lewis-Skelley, Leandro Trossard, and Declan Rice.
A dozen minutes plus stoppage to go at Brentford.
Gabriel Martinelli goal — Brentford 1-3 Arsenal (53rd minute)
Ethan Nwaneri swings the ball in from the right and it’s headed away by Nathan Collins but onto the path of Gabriel Martinelli.
The Brazilian buries his chance. 3-1 on Martinelli’s fifth of the Premier League season.
Mikel Merino goal — Brentford 1-2 Arsenal (50th minute)
Just like that, the Gunners take the lead off a corner kick.
Mark Flekken fumbles the service, and a blocked shot falls for Mikel Merino to roof into the top of the goal.
Halftime — Brentford 1-1 Arsenal
The Gunners have been the better side but conceded two decent chances and one crossed the line.
Arsenal have a 9-4 edge in shot attempts and about 60% possession.
They’ll have to be wary of the Bees’ threat, but this is their game for the taking.
Gabriel Jesus goal — Brentford 1-1 Arsenal (29th minute)
Thomas Partey has enjoyed his day in the midfield, and he lashes a shot that forces Mark Flekken into a diving two-handed parry,
Gabriel Jesus pounces on the rebound to level the score.
David Raya create-your-own-highlight challenge
Arsenal’s keeper with an incredible play to claw the ball away from completely crossing the goal line after he makes a gaffe to concede the chance to the Bees.
Jurrien Timber yellow card
Timber chops down a Bee with a lunging foul, and is shown a yellow card.
That’s his fifth through the first 19 games — they reset after 19 — and he’ll miss the Gunners next Premier League match.
Bryan Mbeumo goal! Brentford 1-0 Arsenal (13th minute)
Mikkel Damsgaard picks off a Martin Odegaard pass with the outside of his boot, then skips past the Norwegian to drive a counter attack.
A long pass to Bryan Mbeumo gives him work to do, 1v1 with Riccardo Calafiori. The Cameroonian creates space for a left-footed shot that beats ex-Bees keeper Raya to the near post.
Early edge to this one
Arsenal have kept a lot of the ball aside from a Brentford counter that required a David Raya intervention in the Gunners box.
Quite a few early fouls, too, as there’s some London derby scrappiness at the Gtech.
0-0, 9'.
Underway!
2025 is here for the Premier League (and everyone) as the Bees and Gunners get started at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Brentford lineup
Flekken, Janelt, Collins, Van den Berg, Roerslev, Norgaard, Yarmoliuk, Damsgaard, Lewis-Poter, Mbeumo, Wissa
Arsenal lineup
Raya, Timber, Saliba, Magalhaes, Calafiori, Partey, Merino, Odegaard, Nwaneri, Martinelli, Jesus
Brentford vs Arsenal preview — By Joe Prince-Wright
The Bees have lost their way a bit in recent weeks as injuries continue to pile up for Thomas Frank’s side. They drew 0-0 at Brighton on Friday but they’ve now failed to score in their last two games, have just one win in five and they lost their unbeaten home record last time as they were defeated by Nottingham Forest. Still, all things considered this has been a very solid start to the season for Brentford as Mbeumo, Schade and Wissa are a real handful up top.
Given the expectation at levels Arsenal will be happy enough, but not overjoyed, with their first half of the season. Mikel Arteta’s side edged past Ipswich 1-0 on Friday to close the gap to leaders Liverpool but with Bukayo Saka out injured for the next few months, Arteta will have to find a new hero to call on. The likes of Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Martinelli and Ethan Nwaneri will all back themselves to fill in for Saka and Arsenal do need to find a little bit more creativity and cutting edge in the final third.
Brentford team news, focus
The Bees just keep on picking up injuries, especially at the back, as starting goalkeeper Mark Flekken went down against Brighton and had to come off. That meant young Icelandic goalkeeper Hakon Valdimarsson made his Premier League debut and he did well. Young Korean center back Kim Ji-soo also made his debut as he came on against Brighton (for the injured Ben Mee) and could get his first Premier League start. Brentford’s squad is basically down to a starting XI and then plenty of youngsters on the bench.
OUT: Kristoffer Ajer (ankle), Mathias Jensen (hamstring), Ethan Pinnock (hamstring), Sepp van den Berg (groin), Igor Thiago (knee), Aaron Hickey (thigh), Josh Dasilva (knee), Rico Henry (knee), Gustavo Nunes (back) | QUESTIONABLE: Mark Flekken (thigh), Ben Mee (undisclosed)
Arsenal team news, focus
Arteta revealed that Saka will be out for the next few months after having hamstring surgery, which is a big blow. He also said that Raheem Sterling won’t be out for as long as was previously feared, so he could be back soon and is another player who could help soften the blow of being without Saka. Martinelli struggled on the right against Ipswich so we could expect to see Jesus out there and Havertz returning to the No. 9 position. The back four is solid and the likes of Merino and Partey could start in midfield to keep things fresh.
OUT: Bukayo Saka (hamstring - MORE), Raheem Sterling (knee), Ben White (knee), Takehiro Tomiyasu (knee)
Brentford vs Arsenal prediction
The Gunners always seem to struggle against Brentford but their is a ruthless streak to them now and they will find a way to win. Brentford 1-2 Arsenal
