Arsenal won 1-0 against Brentford on Wednesday to advance to the Carabao Cup’s fourth round.
Although Mikel Arteta made several adjustments in the squad from Sunday’s north London derby against Tottenham, the Gunners maintained their fluidity and managed to hold off the Bees. After failing to score a late equaliser, Thomas Frank’s team has now dropped three straight matches across all competitions.
How the match progressed
Eight minutes had passed when Arsenal grabbed the lead on the scoreboard. Eddie Nketiah generously squared for Reiss Nelson to score from 12 yards after Zanka misfired a throwback to Ethan Pinnock, who was beaten to the ball.
After the ball dropped to the German midway through the first half following a well-executed throw-in routine, Takehiro Tomiyasu produced a remarkable block to stop Vitaly Janelt. On the half-hour mark, the visitors came dangerously close to increasing their lead when Emile Smith Rowe wriggled past three pairs of trailing Brentford legs, but Mark Flekken stopped him at the near post.
Christian Norgaard could have evened out the score for Brentford when he again glided past Arsenal defenders and set up Yoane Wissa with a brilliant curled pass through the Arsenal backline, but the striker’s initial effort went wide. After halftime, the hosts increased their pressure, and Wissa’s shot from the edge of the box hit the post with Ramsdale getting just a tiny touch.
Nelson almost scored twice after a rapid breakaway, but he slightly missed Kai Havertz’s low cross. With a low punch to deflect a half-volley from Frank Onyeka, Ramsdale managed to maintain Arsenal’s lead. Despite the offside flag having been raised, Tomiyasu made another crucial block to stop Saman Ghoddos from putting the ball in the net after the next throw-in.
Jakub Kiwior made an excellent backpedal to stop Keane Lewis-Potter’s attempt towards a goal with little under ten minutes left in regulation. Arsenal, though, advanced to the next round as Brentford finally failed to even out the score.
