Brentford 1-3 Arsenal: Gunners go second with comeback win as Liverpool title lead trimmed | OneFootball

Mikel Arteta’s side leapfrog Nottingham Forest and move six points off top spot with fourth successive victory

Arsenal moved back into second place in the Premier League table and cut Liverpool’s title lead down to six points with a rousing comeback win at Brentford.

Mikel Arteta’s side are just the second team to win away at Brentford this season, with the Bees staying down in 12th and missing the chance to move back into the top half having now suffered back-to-back home losses and won just one of their last seven games.

Arsenal made four changes from the side that laboured to victory over Ipswich on Friday to close out 2024 in their first match without the injured Bukayo Saka, with Kai Havertz missing through illness amid a sickness bug in the camp and Declan Rice only on the bench as Raheem Sterling also remained sidelined with a knee issue.

Arteta handed a first league start to 17-year-old Ethan Nwaneri in Saka’s usual position down the right flank, with Merino and Thomas Partey both drafted into midfield and Riccardo Calafiori replacing young Myles Lewis-Skelly at left-back.

Brentford, meanwhile, showed two changes from the side that picked up only a second point on the road this season away at Brighton last week, with Mark Flekken fit to start in goal after a knock but the injured Ben Mee replaced by the returning Sepp van den Berg at the back and Yehor Yarmoliuk preferred to Kevin Schade in attack.

Arsenal dominated proceedings and possession early on, but fell behind after only 13 minutes when Mikkel Damsgaard picked off an uncharacteristically sloppy pass from Martin Odegaard in midfield and played in Mbeumo, who ran at Calafiori before sliding a crisp low shot through the legs of the Italian and in past David Raya at his near post.

Arsenal immediately set about finding a swift equaliser, but a shaky evening for Raya on his return to former club Brentford continued when he just about atoned for letting a Keane Lewis-Potter effort slip through his grasp as he clawed the ball back off the line at the very last moment.

Shortly after that drama at one end, Jesus reacted fastest to bury a brave diving header on the rebound after Brentford could not clear their lines on the edge of the box and Partey saw a shot saved by Flekken after a rogue touch from Mbeumo.

Arsenal stepped things up considerably after half-time, with Merino slamming in from close range after Brentford could not scramble clear from a corner as their opponents registered yet another set-piece goal.

Three minutes later the Gunners had completely turned the game on its head, Martinelli taking one touch and dispatching a fine half-volley into the bottom corner after a cross from Nwaneri had been headed away by Nathan Collins, who felt he had been pushed by Jesus. The goal stood after a VAR check.

What had been a frenetic and action-packed contest then became something of a procession for Arsenal until the finish, with Brentford unable to recover from that double whammy as a thoroughly flat second-half performance allowed their opponents to maintain total control.