Brentford 1 - 3 Arsenal

Arsenal closed the gap with Liverpool at the top of the Premier League to six points after defeating Brentford 3-1 at the Gateick Community Stadium.

Liverpool achieved a landslide victory over West Ham on Sunday evening Arsenal has been left nervous over the past few days, with the difference at the top between the two sides being nine points. However, the Gunners started 2025 with a win to move back to second place, but it has not been without worry for Mikel Arteta's side.

Brentford went into the game suffering somewhat of an injury crisis as Thomas Frank had enough of a full Premier League squad on the sidelines. However, it was the hosts, boosted by the availability of goalkeeper Mark Flecken, who took the lead through Brian Mbeumo's early goal (13').

Frank was asked about potential interest in the striker from Premier League clubs before the match and the Brentford boss laughed off suggestions that the 25-year-old could leave the club this month. Mbeumo once again showed just how valuable he is to Brentford, as he slotted a low shot past David Raya at the near post for his 11th league goal of the season.

It is regularly said that football is a game with good margins. This proved to be the case again in this match as Raya inexplicably let Keane Lewis-Potter's shot slip through his fingers. The ball bounced painfully towards goal but Raya reacted quickly and jumped back to clear the ball off the goal line.

Fifty-five seconds later, Arsenal equalized. Thomas Partey's low shot was blocked by Fleken, but Jesus (29') headed in the rebound from close range to score his sixth goal in four matches in all competitions, as the visitors equalized before halftime.

Arteta had work to do in the second half as his side struggled for quality pieces in the first half, and whatever the Spaniard said to his team, it had the desired effect as Arsenal scored twice in three minutes.

It looked like “the free kick again” from the far end after Mikel Merino (50) scored from close range after Let It Be failed to deal with a corner kick from Ethan Nwaneri.

The Gunners celebrated after three minutes and eight seconds when Nwaniri, who was starting for the first time in the league, passed a cross pass that was cleared by Gabriel Martinelli, who shot the ball into the far corner to give his team breathing room.

There was no dramatic comeback from Brentford, who suffered their second home defeat this season in the English Premier League.

Meanwhile, Arsenal extended their unbeaten run in all competitions to 11 matches with a third successive league win. They now have a chance to close the gap on Liverpool to three points when they face a trip to Brighton, straight away Sky Sports on Saturday (kick-off at 5.30pm), before Liverpool take on Manchester United on Super Sunday, also live. Sky Sports (Departure at 4.30 pm).

More to follow.