GTECH COMMUNITY STADIUM — All things considered, not a bad start to the New Year for Arsenal.
And Mikel Arteta was even afforded a decent look at a forward it might be worth buying in the summer, unless Nwaneri can prove he is ready for first-team football between now and then.
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Read MoreAt half-time, the score level, when Arsenal looked a little short of ideas and stuck it was Nwaneri’s left-footed deliveries that dug them out of it.
A wicked corner turned into a goalmouth scramble that Mikel Merino lashed in, on 50 minutes, to give Arsenal the lead. Three minutes later, Nwaneri stayed wide as Arsenal worked the ball forwards and when it came to him he cut back and sent in another devilish in-swinging cross that Brentford were again unable to clear, the ball headed straight to Martinelli, who controlled with his hip and finished well.
There's no stopping that
Arsenal come out flying in the second half and score two goals in just three minutes
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With Bukayo Saka out injured long-term, Kai Havertz missing this game through sickness, and Arsenal’s players just generally feeling the strain after two brutal, pounding seasons trying to beat Manchester City to the title, the two Brazilians have picked an opportune time to find form.
Fifty-five seconds between David Raya clawing a shot from his goal-line and Jesus equalising show how close Arsenal were to plunging into a disastrous position.
Still, football is all about recycling squads and freshening the place up and if Arteta does decide to move for a forward, as many fans hope, he saw first-hand the impact Bryan Mbeumo can have.
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Read MoreMbeumo’s goal came virtually out of nothing: for 13 minutes Brentford watching Arsenal pass the ball almost exclusively around their half, they had not had a single shot and only one attack of any vague meaning.
Even then, Mbeumo on the right and approaching Arsenal’s box one v one against Riccardo Calafiori, against the backdrop of the game to this point, nobody was expecting a goal. Apart from maybe Mbeumo, who cut inside and lashed a quick, unexpected shot that beat Raya at his near post.
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At time of scoring, Brentford had an expected goals rating of 0.06.
Mbeumo’s contract is up in 2026 so while Brentford manager Thomas Frank has batted away suggestions of him leaving in January, for a fee reported to be £50m, similar offers in the summer will probably be too hard to turn down.
Plenty for Arteta to think about.
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