Relief for Arsenal, redemption for Aaron Ramsdale and cause for a good lie-down for Mikel Arteta. What a brilliantly mad route he and his men took to the top of the league in this strangest and most wild of games.
If we are to start with the basics, it is that they almost blew it, only for Kai Havertz, the posterboy for changing fortunes, to head a winner after 86 minutes.
For Havertz, that was a fourth goal in four. For Arsenal, it was good for an eighth straight league victory. For Manchester City and Liverpool, it was a blow. For drama, it was exceptional.
But to see this match through any lens other than Ramsdale’s would be absurd, because his evening was quite something. It was his first start of any description for two months, and one only made possible by David Raya’s ineligibility to face his parent club, and as such we might wonder if it was his last before exploring new options in the summer.
If it does prove to be his sign off, then what a way to go. The first of three key moments came four minutes into first-half stoppage time, when Arsenal were cruising at 1-0 via a Declan Rice header. They weren’t inflicting one of their usual hidings, but Brentford had offered zilch.
Kai Havertz powerfully headed his effort past Mark Flekken in the Brentford goal to claim the win
The German has faced criticism since his big money move but he has chimed in with key contributions as the Gunners moved to the top of the league
Aaron Ramsdale was relieved to see the late winner which spared his blushes after an earlier error
And then from nowhere Ramsdale had an almighty howler, with his inexplicable decision to control a Gabriel backpass and then gifting an equaliser to Yoane Wissa. Poor bloke, he looked mortified and Brentford fans were in no mood for generosity: ‘You’re just a s*** David Raya they sang.’
But if we measure character in how one responds to a setback, then good on Arsenal and good on him. His two fingertip saves to stop Ivan Toney and Nathan Collins in the second half were stunning. Granted, he was only digging his way out of a hole of his making, but it would have been so easy to fold after such a dreadful error. Instead, he was the platform and upon it Havertz headed the win.
Getting to the top of the league was never meant to be easy; then again, who would have predicted a home game against Brentford would be this hard?
That they navigated it means more than the method, and will perhaps even offer some further evidence that Arsenal can withstand both pressure and hard times.
The irony is this one initially looked to be straightforward. After 20 minutes of domination, the breakthrough was achieved by Rice following a brute of a cross by Ben White, who had engineered an angle for the delivery through a clever exchange of passes with Bukayo Saka.
From there, Rice benefited from some flimsy marking by Mads Roerslev and nailed the header – a classic centre-forward’s header from a midfielder who can do a lot of everything.
A second goal almost followed when Jorginho, sitting at the heart of a ludicrously one-sided battle in the middle of the pitch, floated a lovely ball over Brentford’s back line for Kai Havertz. His first touch was a delight but the next, his little clip over Flekken, was a fraction wide of perfect.
Declan Rice gave the home side the lead after only 19 minutes in what looked like being another comfortable game
Ramsdale was closed down by Bees striker Yoane Wissa, handing the side a gift just before the break
The Congo striker’s return from AFCON has been timely with the side’s ailing league form
By that stage, Brentford were dead in all regards barring the numbers. They were clinging on for dear life and not daring to spring an attack for fear of the gaps they might leave. And then it all turned with Ramsdale’s howler. Truth is, there was little wrong with Gabriel’s backpass – this one was all on the goalkeeper and the determination of Wissa to test his touch. Smart lad.
If there was any relief for Ramsdale in his mini-drama, it was that he was able to secure some level of redemption 10 minutes into the second half.
That was when Toney spotted him off his line and flushed a half-volley from 40 yards for what would have been a fabulous lob, only for the keeper to contort his body on the retreat and slaw the shot the wide. A superb save. As indeed was his subsequent intervention to tip over a header from Nathan Collins.
Mikel Arteta’s side battled adversity to record a vital win that sees them move top of the league ahead of Liverpool’s clash against Manchester City on Sunday
While those moments were playing out, both Arsenal’s crowd and manager were growing desperate. In Arteta’s case, that meant taking off Jorginho for the extra firepower of Gabriel Jesus in the minutes before Rice curled against the bar.
For so long it appeared unlikely to yield the result they needed. But then came the revival, sourced again to a cross from White and a header powered past Flekken by Havertz.
