LONDON, United Kingdom, Dec 4 – Mikel Merino and Bukayo Saka scored as Arsenal beat Brentford to restore their five point lead at the top of the Premier League table.
Manager Mikel Arteta made three changes to the side that drew with Chelsea on Sunday with Ben White, Noni Madueke and captain Martin Odegaard coming in.
And it was White and Madueke who combined in the build up on 11 minutes with right-back White crossing for Arsenal’s make-shift front man Merino to head home.
Merino has had to play regularly as Arsenal’s frontman because of injuries to Kai Havertz, Gabriel Jesus and Viktor Gyokeres and his goal was his 13th in 2025, the most of any Arsenal player during the year.
Bukayo Saka added the second in stoppage time after being played through on goal by Merino from midfield, and despite the best efforts of Caoimhin Kelleher, the ball bounced over the line.
Brentford were pinned back for large parts of the game but went close to equalising in the first half when Kevin Schade’s header from a corner was pushed onto the crossbar by David Raya.
The only worry for Arteta was that Cristhian Mosquera and Declan Rice both had to be taken off with knocks.
The victory extends Arsenal’s unbeaten run to 18 games across all competitions and was also their eighth successive win at home.
The match against Brentford was always going to be tricky for Arsenal to navigate after recent games against Tottenham Hotspur, Bayern Munich and Chelsea that required such a big effort.
Mikel Arteta resisted the temptation to make a huge number of changes and kept key players such as Declan Rice, Martin Zubimendi and Riccardo Calafiori in his starting XI.
Mikel Merino also kept his place upfront and the Spanish international scored another important goal to add to his collection with his first half header.
He then set up substitute Bukayo Saka with the assist his sixth goal contribution in his last five games (three goals, three assists).
The Gunners have suffered with injuries throughout the season and there will be a worry that the knocks to Mosquera and Rice will further test the Arsenal squad.
However, Arsenal continue to build momentum and find ways to get results no matter the opposition they come up against.
Brentford analysis: Bees show promise but not enough to get result
Brentford manager Keith Andrews said before the match that getting a result against Arsenal would be a “tough task” but the away side did their best to make it difficult for the league leaders.
Andrews made five changes to his team as they reverted to a back five as they looked to frustrate Arsenal and use the pace of forwards Dango Ouattara and Kevin Schade on the counter-attack.
Brentford, alongside Arsenal, are one of the league’s most threatening sides from set-pieces and if Schade’s header had not been turned on to the crossbar by Raya, the result may have been different.
The away side were more positive in the second half and made the home crowd nervy while they were only one goal behind.
But Brentford could not find an equaliser before Saka made sure of the points for Arsenal and a result that means that the Bees have still only won once away from home in the league this season.
