Arteta Trends As EPL New Boys Stun Arsenal
14 August, 2021
Mikel Arteta was trending on Friday evening after Arsenal suffered a surprise 2-0 defeat to Premier League debutants Brentford FC.
Premier League
Result: Brentford 2-0 Arsenal
Date: 13 August 2021
Venue: Brentford Community Stadium
The Gunners were without senior strikers Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as Gabriel Martinelli and Folarin Balogun were given starts upfront.
The hosts carved out the first opening on 11 minutes when Ivan Toney did well to play in strike partner Bryan Mbeumo, who rattled the upright with Bernd Leno beaten at his near post.
It was the new boys who broke the deadlock on 22 minutes when Sergi Canos cut inside and sent a powerful strike past Leno to get the Bees' first-ever Premier League goal.
Arsenal were lucky not to find themselves two goals down in the 44th minute after Mbeumo managed to weave his way past two defenders in the box before dragging his effort wide with only Leno to beat.
The Gunners did get their first meaningful chance five minutes after the break when Emile Smith-Rowe broke through on goal, but the midfielder was unable to fire past Brentford shot-stopper David Raya.
Mikel Arteta looked to his bench for the final 30 minutes as Bukayo Saka replaced Balogun while Martinelli made way for Reiss Neilson in the 71st minute.
However, it was Brentford who got the next goal as Arsenal's failure to deal with a long throw into the box allowed Christian Norgaard to power home a header at the far post.
Nicolas Pepe did have chance to reduce the deficit late on, but Raya produced a superb low save to ensure the Bees walked away with three points and a clean sheet on their Premier League debut.
Source: www.soccerladuma.co.za
TAG(s):