Brentford 0-3 Arsenal: 3 talking points from a resounding away win

A superb display from Arsenal moved them back to the summit of the Premier League as they beat Brentford 3-0 on Sunday afternoon.

Arsenal were utterly dominant on Brentford’s patch and goals from William Saliba, Gabriel Jesus, and Fabio Vieira meant their stellar performance was rewarded with three points. The Gunners meant business from the very outset, and given the players who were missing in Martin Odegaard and Oleksandr Zinchenko, the result was even more impressive.

Saliba rose to flick his header home 16 minutes into the match, with Jesus doing the same just 11 minutes later, courtesy of a delightful Granit Xhaka cross.

Arsenal were in cruise control from the first whistle and put the game beyond Brentford’s grasp just four minutes into the second half. Fabio Vieira let fly from outside the box as his shot cannoned in off the upright as he netted on his Premier League debut.

Brentford 0-3 Arsenal: 3 talking points from a resounding away win

The game provided plenty of talking points; here they are.

1. Squad depth is now a strength

Unless it is in the heart of midfield, but that’s a topic for another day.

Arsenal’s depth showed up and showed out against Brentford. With captain Odegaard and first choice left back Zinchenko out injured, it would have been panic stations in years gone by.

Instead, the once first-choice left-back Kieran Tierney and back up to Odegaard, Fabio Vieira, slotted in seamlessly and to significant effect. That is without mentioning Ben White’s struggle late on; Takehiro Tomiyasu was brought on. A player who was a starter last year.

That is where the depth of the squad can be seen. Even Eddie Nketiah came on to replace Gabriel Martinelli as it shows the Gunners, in certain positions, have great depth, and it got them the result on Sunday.

Keep in mind there was no Reiss Nelson, Rob Holding, Emile Smith Rowe, Mohamed Elneny and Cedric either.

Continued on next slide…