Brentford 0–1 Arsenal
by Layth Yousif
at the Brentford Community Stadium

Kai Havertz’s 89th winner sent Arsenal to the top of the Premier League table on Saturday evening.

The 24-year-old German international headed Bukayo Saka’s pinpoint cross past Bees keeper Mark Flekken, and into the net to fire Mikel Arteta’s side into top spot.

Captain Martin Odegaard returned to the side, as did Gabriel Jesus as the north Londoners leapfrogged Manchester City and Liverpool to head the table, following the pair’s 1-1 draw in the north-west earlier in the day.  

Speaking after the match, Havertz said: “It is hard work, nothing comes from itself and you have to work and have to believe. I tried to put my ego aside and the team is the important thing.”

Amid such joyous celebrations in front of the vociferous travelling Arsenal support following Havertz’s goal, the former Bayer Leverkusen who cost the Gunners £65 million in the summer praised fans afterwards: “I am so thankful for these guys. It is hard when a new signing comes and they pay a lot of money for you. I am just thankful they keep supporting me.”

Another player supported by the travelling contingent was Aaron Ramsdale. With Arsenal’s Brentford loanee David Raya ineligible for the match, Ramsdale started for the Gunners between the sticks on a chilly evening in west London.

Yet, Ramsdale’s indecision when attempting to clear the ball nearly led to the lively Bryan Mbuemo scoring in the 13th minute.

After Yoanne Wissa robbed Ramsdale, Bees’ No19 Mbuemo saw his powerful drive stopped on the line by Declan Rice, before Wissa failed to capitalise on the Arsenal shotstopper’s error by putting his follow-up effort wide.

It was sad to say Ramsdale’s initial mistake came from a keeper shorn of confidence, unsure of his own game — certainly when it came to the art of distribution — in what could well his final match for the north Londoners, as he seeks first team football ahead of Euro 2024.

Sentiment among Arsenal fans on Ramsdale appeared to be split between those who have never had a boss who wanted them out, and those with enough emotional intelligence to feel for a guy who’d been stripped of all confidence by a bad management decision. It was sad to see such an unravelling of such a previously assured keeper, in contrast to the sad shadow of Ramsdale at Brentford.

The look of relief on Mikel Arteta’s face said it all after Yissa’s failed effort, as the Arsenal boss knew his keeper — and perhaps himself, as the catalyst for such unnecessary selection drama — had got away with it.

It was Brentford’s turn to get away with something, when VAR ruled out Leandro Trossard’s first half effort for offside, after Flekken could only parry Jesus’s header, following Saka’s ball into the box.  

As temperatures dropped, as a hard-fought game moved into the second half, it was Bees keeper Flekken’s turn to nearly concede while attempting to play the ball out from the back, with substitute Eddie Nketiah almost forcing the ball into the net.

Brentford also nearly had the ball in the net but Oleksandr Zinchenko cleared off the line from Neal Maupay.

That was before Havertz ghosted in for his 89th minute winner — the 10th goal scored by a Gunners substitute this term — to send the Gunners support in a crowd of 17,201 into raptures.

Speaking after the match — his 200th in charge — Arteta said: “So happy with the way we competed, the way we played and kept going. I think we deserved to win the game. Compliments to their players as it is a hard place to come.”

While a disappointed Thomas Frank added: “It is tough to lose in the last moments of a game we could easily have won.”