A GOAL TO SAVOUR
There are few better sights than an Arsenal side in full flow, moving the ball quickly from back to front to conjure up a team goal. Unai Emery will have loved our second goal as the players stayed true to his principles of playing the ball out from the back to suck in the opposition and then outnumber them further up the pitch. Bernd Leno started the move with a chip to Stephan Lichtsteiner and, from the moment he headed down to Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Brentford were deep in trouble. Micki found Alex Iwobi and he drew his man before finding Nacho Monreal for a low cross that Danny Welbeck tucked in. Beautiful football.
WELBECK'S WORK ETHIC
Danny Welbeck has four goals in six games this season and is the only Premier League player to score in three different club competitions in 2018/19. The stats speak volumes but this performance wasn’t just about goals. Those two predatory finishes aside, Welbz was a true menace to the Brentford back line with his tenacious pressing. At one point he chased down a defender, then the goalkeeper, then back to the same defender… and he still managed to block the clearance. Welbeck’s capacity for graft was hard to miss; Auba and Laca will need to stay sharp.
STRONG SUPPORTING CAST
We’ve seen plenty of youngsters wheeled out in these fixtures in recent years, but this was a side with plenty of experience - despite Unai Emery making nine changes. Emile Smith Rowe flew the flag for the academy, while Alex Iwobi is a recent graduate, but we also saw relative veterans like Stephan Lichtsteiner and Henrikh Mkhitaryan. It’s a sign of the depth of quality that Unai has at his disposal.
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