Gunners outgun Bees in New Year (but read on until the end!)
Brentford 1, Arsenal 3; 01.01.2025
What with more limping-wounded than many returning-from-action battalions, the Bees might have been forgiven expectations of a tough New Year’s Day visit by Arsenal to the Gtech. If so, they wouldn’t have been wrong: the contenders for Premier League glory looked every bit the part and Thomas Frank was must have been wishing for a handful of extra subs to stem the flow of classy inventive football produced by the visitors from north London.
Not a glowing report on the first game of the year, I agree, with Arsenal’s own hopes of closing the gap between them and Liverpool (some hopes, did I hear you murmur?) was achieved temporarily. Fortunately, there was an opportunity for the Bees to bounce back, more of which later.
Arsenal were dominant from the get-go, brimming with confidence. But after 13 minutes Bryan Mbeumo – enjoying a purple patch that makes him a constant threat – received a splendid pass from Mikkel Damsgaard and breezed into range before tucking his shot inside David Raya’s near post. However, Raya, late of this parish, does not take kindly to conceding, and saved from Keane Lewis-Potter before Gabriel Jesus headed the equaliser, thus setting the scene for Arsenal to move up a gear or several.
Bearing in mind that the Gunners’ Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz, both class acts, were sidelined by injury, Brentford did their best to compete, but Mikel Merino and Gabriel Martinelli then scored a goal each.
Frank, always the gentleman, congratulated Arsenal for being ‘the best’ without suggesting the Bees had been outplayed. Fair enough, said my mate Charlie – ‘And don’t forget we beat them 2-0 in our first Premier League game’. That was in 2021, I reminded him, and like many of the home crowd, seemed little consolation.
Brentford (4-3-1-2): Flekken, Roerslev, Collins, van den Berg (sub Kim Ji-Soo 75m), Lewis-Potter, Yamorliuk, Nørgaard (Jensen 75), Janelt, Damsgaard (P Maghoma 75), Mbeumo, Wissa (Schade 75).
Arsenal: (4-3-3): Raya, Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori (Lewis-Skelly 78), Odegaard (Jorginho 88), Partey, Merino, (Rice,78), Nwaned, (Trossard 78), Jesus (Zinchenko 90), Martinelli.
The hard-fought point earned in the last League game of 2024 was more to the taste of those travelling to Brighton to see the Bees face the Seagulls and grind out 0-0 in an unsatisfactory rearranged fixture on 27 December. Full marks to those supporters who lent their tonsils for the evening and managed somehow to find their way home!
And then came the glorious win celebrated back on the coast at St Mary’s Stadium three days after the disappointment of Arsenal’s visit (I promised, remember?).
Only the hardest hearts could not sympathise with Southampton’s dismal record this season. Without companion Charlie, I decamped for a break in Spain, managing to arrive in time to watch the last ten minutes of the first half with the Bees one up from a Kevin Schade goal. The second period contained four goals from Brentford – a demolition job, although TV commentators suggested that they should have collected two or three more.
Man of the match, for which he has been frequently nominated this season, saw Bryan Mbeumo contribute a magnificent performance that included scoring two goals. The first saw him unleash a rocket of a shot to leave international keeper Aaron Ramsdale as if turned to stone; the second, a penalty, saw Mbeumo every bit as lethal. His total goals accumulated list has him only third in the Premier hotshots.
Justice was seen to be done when Keane Lewis-Potter and Yoane Wissa each failed to convert what looked like scoring chances in time added at the end, only for both to find the net as the final minutes ticked away. Arsenal’s earlier super display became no more than a hiccup in the rough and tumble of the grand old game.
Three matches that will stick in the memory, I concluded, although for once I was unable to reflect on the past while looking forward to more of the same.
Southampton looked suitably crestfallen.
Where’s Charlie when you need him?
Bill Hagerty is a contributing editor to the Chiswick Calendar website.
