by Mikel Arteta knows better than anyone that there is no guarantee that the top will be successful in November in May. His Arsenal team spent most of last season in pole position, after all, and ultimately had nothing to show for it. The league table, any manager will tell you, is different at this stage of the campaign.
And yet when he wakes up on Sunday morning, Arteta will do so feeling extremely happy. Arsenal are back on top and back where they want to be, having taken advantage of Manchester City’s draw with Liverpool earlier in the day.
There is more, too. Arsenal didn’t just make another statement of intent in the title race. Perhaps more importantly, they did so thanks to a winning goal from the man who needed it more than anyone else. Kai Havertz doesn’t have many moments to savor in an Arsenal shirt but this was undoubtedly one of them.
Germany’s late winner, a back-post header from Bukayo Saka’s cross, could yet prove to be the springboard for his Arsenal career. It wasn’t his first goal for the club, but it was certainly his most important. A move that turned one point into three, with only a few minutes remaining, and a small step towards justifying his £65 million fee.
At the end, after the final whistle, Arteta grabbed Havertz around the neck. He then dragged it, running across the turf, towards the away supporters. The message to those fans was clear: accept Havertz. Trust that it will turn out well.
Few teams have the joy of playing against Thomas Frank’s side, who are among the most organized and combative of opponents. To play here, on a freezing night in west London, is to face an extremely unpleasant tactical and physical test. Until Havertz won, Arsenal lacked much of their usual spark and plenty of unwanted anger.
A lot of that angst, especially in the first half, seemed to be coursing through Aaron Ramsdale’s veins. The goalkeeper endured a chilling night in more ways than one, having panicked throughout the opening exchanges.
In the end, to Arsenal’s relief, he came through. He also left with a clean sheet, although perhaps without much hope of dislodging David Raya in the coming weeks.
From the moment Ramsdale lost his place in the Arsenal team, this game would have been circled in his calendar. The England goalkeeper has not featured in the Premier League since the start of September but, with Raya unable to play against his parent club, he would know this is his chance to remind the world what he can do it.
Ramsdale’s problem, however, is that he is now the center of attention when he steps onto the field. All the talk about the two goalkeepers, all the debate about Arteta’s management of the issue — all this put a brighter spotlight on the man between the posts.
Dealing with this pressure is, of course, a goalkeeper’s job. But Ramsdale looked loaded in the first half, and he played like a man who knew everyone in the football world was watching him.
The first songs of support for Ramsdale came before the game, with Arsenal fans keen to remind the 25-year-old how popular he is within their fan base. The response from Brentford supporters was to immediately compare him unfavorably to Raya, who is still loved in these parts for his central role in Brentford’s rise. All four corners of the earth, singing about one man.
Ramsdale has historically been successful in such situations. In recent seasons, it seems there was nothing he liked more than wounding a hostile crowd. But this time he looked very uncomfortable, and it didn’t take long for his performance to suffer.
First he hung the ball straight out of play. Then he almost gave up unnecessarily, conceding possession in his own penalty area. He was grateful for the quick thinking of Declan Rice, who produced a brilliant block to deny Bryan Mbeumo. An attempt was then made to throw it into the turf.
Arsenal’s best hope in these moments was to keep the ball at the other end of the pitch. They did so for most of the game but created half chances rather than clear cut opportunities. When they put the ball into the net, through Leandro Trossard’s close header, the effort was ruled out by a narrow save.
The lack of creativity continued into the second half, with Brentford defending with numbers and quality, and almost scoring through Neal Maupay’s header. But the pressure built on Brentford, and they finally broke when Havertz reached Saka’s swirling cross.
