Arsenal came from behind to win against Brentford on New Year’s Day 2025, reducing Liverpool’s lead at the top of the Premier League to six points, although Arsenal has played one more game.
Brentford’s Bryan Mbeumo, whose impressive season has fueled transfer speculation linking him to clubs like Arsenal, opened the scoring in the 13th minute with his 11th goal of the season.
Arsenal struggled to create clear chances early on and missed several opportunities in the first half. However, a key moment came when Thomas Partey’s shot was saved by Brentford goalkeeper Mark Flekken, and Gabriel Jesus pounced on the rebound to continue his goal-scoring streak.
Not long before, Arsenal’s goalkeeper David Raya avoided a potential error after misjudging a shot from Keane Lewis-Potter but recovered in time. In the second half, Arsenal took control, with Mikel Merino capitalizing on a scrappy corner to put them ahead. Soon after, Gabriel Martinelli added a third with a composed strike from outside the box following a brilliant run down the wing by Ethan Nwaneri.
Arsenal now has the chance to close the gap to three points when they play Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday, just before Liverpool faces struggling Manchester United at Anfield the next day.
Brentford remains in 12th place, safe from relegation and just one win away from entering the top half, with a match against Southampton on the horizon.
Brentford Player Ratings vs Arsenal (4-3-1-2)
Substitutes:
- Leandro Trossard (78′ for Nwaneri): 6.0/10
- Declan Rice (78′ for Merino): 5.8/10
- Myles Lewis-Skelly (78′ for Calafiori): 6.3/10
- Jorginho (88′ for Odegaard): N/A
- Oleksandr Zinchenko (90+1′ for Jesus): N/A
