Arsenal responded on Wednesday January 1 to Liverpool’s demonstration on Sunday at West Ham (5-0), by winning 3-1 at Brentford to stay 6 points behind the “Reds” on the evening of the 19th day of the Premier League.
With 45 points and a game in hand, Liverpool is currently on the path to the title, but Arsenal (39 pts) did not give up at the end of the year, with three consecutive victories in twelve days.
Trailing 1-0 after 14 minutes of play, the Gunners reacted with Gabriel Jesus (1-1, 29th), before killing the match in three minutes in the second half thanks to Mikel Merino (2-1, 50th) and Gabriel Martinelli (3-1, 53rd).
Nottingham Forest (37 pts), winner 2-0 at Everton on Sunday, overtook Chelsea (35 pts) and occupies third place alone.
At Brentford, however, Arsenal struggled to get into the match. After a very good start, the locals logically opened the score before the quarter of an hour of play when the Cameroonian international Bryan Mbeumo concluded a counter-attack following a transition played very quickly (1-0, 13th). His shot deceived Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya at the near post.
More reactive than organized, Mikel Arteta’s men nevertheless showed character. At the end of a high-intensity sequence where both teams could have scored, Gabriel Jesus gave the Gunners the advantage, by catching a ball pushed back by the goalkeeper with a diving header (1-1, 29th).
In the second period, the Londoners appeared much more organized and clearly dominated the debates. Mikel Merino gave them the advantage by recovering a messed up ball in the area following a corner (2-1, 50th).
On the following action, the Brazilian Gabriel Martinelli gave the final blow, with a superb control-volley sequence – again on a ball poorly repelled by the defense – which left no chance for the Brentford goalkeeper (3-1 , 53rd).
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