Tomiyasu shone in a sterling defensive effort against the lively Bees. Reiss Nelson tucked away a great chance off a terrible backpass purloined by Eddie Nketieh in the 8th minute. I did not see the game--it was not televised even in Britain--but from all accounts it had a lot of action. The Gunners dominated the first half but Brentford pushed us to the limit in the second half. It was one of those games that could have been 3-3 if the keepers and defenders hadn't made some spectacular plays.
The best part was that we won without so many important players. Rice, Saka, Saliba, and Martinelli weren't on the team, and Zinchenko, Jesus and Odegaard came on for just a few minutes near the end. Charles Sagoe Jr, a 19 year old making his first appearance in a senior game, played in Saka's position. Emile Smith Rowe finally got a start and looked quite good. Reiss Nelson, the game winner, was valuable at both ends. Jakub Kiwior was solid in the back. Ramsdale was superb, making an astonishing save that Raya would not (IMO) have touched, and distributing well. He should get the start this weekend, but we shall see.
On to the fourth round. Arsenal has not won this competition for 30 years. Wenger had no respect for it. I hope Arteta targets this bit of silverware. It's a great start.
No comments:
Post a Comment