Brentford 1-3 Arsenal (Mbeumo 13′ | Jesus 29′, Merino 50′, Martinelli 53′)
GTECH COMMUNITY STADIUM — All things considered, not a bad start to the New Year for Arsenal.
Victory in a potentially tricky away game against Brentford to keep the pressure on Liverpool in the title race, Gabriels Jesus and Martinelli hitting scoring form at a time when they are light on forwards, and a promising first Premier League start for 17-year-old Ethan Nwaneri, completing a makeshift but effective front three.
And Mikel Arteta was even afforded a decent look at a forward it might be worth buying in the summer, unless Nwaneri can prove he is ready for first-team football between now and then.
If he can continue like this, he will have no problem.
At half-time, the score level, when Arsenal looked a little short of ideas and stuck it was Nwaneri’s left-footed deliveries that dug them out of it.
He had shown fleeting glimpses of his talent via quick feet, step-overs, getting to the byline, winning corners. There was even a little rendition of “Ethan Nwaneri, he’s one of our own” by the 1,000-odd travelling fans. But overall he had been quiet until he stamped a mark on his full league debut in the first eight minutes of the second half.
A wicked corner turned into a goalmouth scramble that Mikel Merino lashed in, on 50 minutes, to give Arsenal the lead. Three minutes later, Nwaneri stayed wide as Arsenal worked the ball forwards and when it came to him he cut back and sent in another devilish in-swinging cross that Brentford were again unable to clear, the ball headed straight to Martinelli, who controlled with his hip and finished well.
There's no stopping that
Arsenal come out flying in the second half and score two goals in just three minutes
@tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/IAAvcjcLzw
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) January 1, 2025
After scoring four in his first 22 games this season that is now two in three for Martinelli, form only bettered by Jesus, who scored his sixth goal in four. Considering it took Jesus 83 shots and 48 games to score his previous six Arsenal goals, it is pretty remarkable he now has six in only 11 attempts.
With Bukayo Saka out injured long-term, Kai Havertz missing this game through sickness, and Arsenal’s players just generally feeling the strain after two brutal, pounding seasons trying to beat Manchester City to the title, the two Brazilians have picked an opportune time to find form.
That is much needed if Arsenal are to stand any serious chance of catching Liverpool at the top, six points ahead but with a game in hand.
Fifty-five seconds between David Raya clawing a shot from his goal-line and Jesus equalising show how close Arsenal were to plunging into a disastrous position.
Millimetres away from being two goals behind to level, after Mark Flekken saved Thomas Partey’s shot but failed to push the ball clear of danger, and Jesus was there to head a rebound past Brentford’s goalkeeper.
Still, football is all about recycling squads and freshening the place up and if Arteta does decide to move for a forward, as many fans hope, he saw first-hand the impact Bryan Mbeumo can have.
Mbeumo has a truly wonderful left foot, works extraordinarily hard at pressing and tracking back, wins clever fouls, and his 11 Premier League goals this season in a decent but still mid-table side will be the reason Arsenal, Newcastle and Liverpool, who face the prospect of losing a right-sided, left-footed forward on a free transfer in the summer called Mohamed Salah, are keeping tabs on him.
Mbeumo’s goal came virtually out of nothing: for 13 minutes Brentford watching Arsenal pass the ball almost exclusively around their half, they had not had a single shot and only one attack of any vague meaning.
Then Mikkel Damsgaard intercepted a Martin Odegaard pass, drove up the pitch with the ball and passed to Mbeumo.
Even then, Mbeumo on the right and approaching Arsenal’s box one v one against Riccardo Calafiori, against the backdrop of the game to this point, nobody was expecting a goal. Apart from maybe Mbeumo, who cut inside and lashed a quick, unexpected shot that beat Raya at his near post.
Bryan Mbeumo stuns Arsenal with a brilliant near post finish to beat David Raya
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) January 1, 2025
At time of scoring, Brentford had an expected goals rating of 0.06.
Since summer 2022 there are only seven players with more than Mbeumo’s combined 45 Premier League goals and assists, including Erling Haaland (mainly just goals), Salah, Saka and Cole Palmer. Some heady company.
Mbeumo’s contract is up in 2026 so while Brentford manager Thomas Frank has batted away suggestions of him leaving in January, for a fee reported to be £50m, similar offers in the summer will probably be too hard to turn down.
Plenty for Arteta to think about.
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