Brentford fans react as Arsenal's French defender William Saliba is mobbed by teammates after scoring the opening goal during the English Premier League football match between Brentford and Arsenal at the Gtech Community Stadium in London on September 18, 2022. - - RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. (Photo by Ian Kington / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. (Photo by IAN KINGTON/AFP via Getty Images)
Brentford 0-3 Arsenal: 3 talking points from a resounding away win
by Adam Schultz
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.
Keep on dancing. #BailaViniJR ❤️ pic.twitter.com/BOWSFjkt6n
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) September 18, 2022
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.
✅ First Premier League start
🔥 First Premier League goal
🏆 First POTM award pic.twitter.com/pMGr3i4VCl— Arsenal (@Arsenal) September 18, 2022
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…
#BailaViniJR</a> ❤️ <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/09/19/brentford-0-3-arsenal-3-talking-points-resounding-win/"https://t.co/BOWSFjkt6n">pic.twitter.com/BOWSFjkt6n
<p>— Arsenal (@Arsenal) <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/09/19/brentford-0-3-arsenal-3-talking-points-resounding-win/"https://twitter.com/Arsenal/status/1571490054949965824?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>September 18, 2022</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/09/19/brentford-0-3-arsenal-3-talking-points-resounding-win/"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></div>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<h2>Brentford 0-3 Arsenal: 3 talking points from a resounding away win</h2>
<p>The game provided plenty of talking points; here they are.</p>
<h2>1. Squad depth is now a strength</h2>
<p>Unless it is in the heart of midfield, but that’s a topic for another day.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="embed ">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">✅ First Premier League start<br />🔥 First Premier League goal <br />🏆 First POTM award <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/09/19/brentford-0-3-arsenal-3-talking-points-resounding-win/"https://t.co/pMGr3i4VCl">pic.twitter.com/pMGr3i4VCl
<p>— Arsenal (@Arsenal) <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/09/19/brentford-0-3-arsenal-3-talking-points-resounding-win/"https://twitter.com/Arsenal/status/1571544600723922944?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>September 18, 2022</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/09/19/brentford-0-3-arsenal-3-talking-points-resounding-win/"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></div>
<p>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.</p>
<p>Keep in mind there was no Reiss Nelson, Rob Holding, Emile Smith Rowe, Mohamed Elneny and Cedric either.</p>
<p><em>Continued on next slide…</em></p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/09/19/brentford-0-3-arsenal-3-talking-points-resounding-win/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Talking Point #2 </a>
</div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_129489" class="wp-caption aligncenter">
<img decoding="async" class="wp-image-129489 size-full" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/09/19/brentford-0-3-arsenal-3-talking-points-resounding-win/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2335,w_3200/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1424924062.jpeg" alt="" width="3200" height="2335" srcset="https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1424924062.jpeg 3200w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1424924062-768x560.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">BRENTFORD, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 18: William Saliba celebrates after scoring the first goal for Arsenal during the Premier League match between Brentford FC and Arsenal FC at Brentford Community Stadium on September 18, 2022, in Brentford, United Kingdom. (Photo by Visionhaus/Getty Images)</p>
</div>
</div>
<h2>2. William Saliba continues to impress</h2>
<p>With each passing week, William Saliba continues to impress. Against the Bees, his ability on the ball stood out the most. Several times he was quickly closed down, only to do a neat little turn to get himself out of trouble or kept hold of the ball in a similar way to Thomas Partey and then drove his side forward.</p>
<div class="embed ">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">William Saliba’s game by numbers vs. Brentford:</p>
<p>100% tackles won <br>100% dribbles completed <br>89% pass accuracy <br>70 touches <br>4/5 ground duels won<br>1 shot on target <br>1 goal </p>
<p>🎶… Saliba. 🍸 <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/09/19/brentford-0-3-arsenal-3-talking-points-resounding-win/"https://t.co/R8VpRGBeqr">pic.twitter.com/R8VpRGBeqr
<p>— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/09/19/brentford-0-3-arsenal-3-talking-points-resounding-win/"https://twitter.com/StatmanDave/status/1571484184081752070?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>September 18, 2022</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/09/19/brentford-0-3-arsenal-3-talking-points-resounding-win/"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></div>
<p>Defensively he was as good as ever as Arsenal barely gave the home side a sniff at goal, and his partnership with Gabriel is developing incredibly well. Not to mention his goalscoring ability from set pieces now as he has scored twice this season already.</p>
<p>We keep forgetting that he is doing all this at just 21 years of age which is simply ridiculous, and the scary part is he will only get better.</p>
<p><em>Continued on next slide…</em></p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/09/19/brentford-0-3-arsenal-3-talking-points-resounding-win/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Talking Point #3 </a>
</div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_129470" class="wp-caption aligncenter">
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-129470 size-full" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/09/19/brentford-0-3-arsenal-3-talking-points-resounding-win/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2132,w_3200/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1243322845.jpeg" alt="" width="3200" height="2132" srcset="https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1243322845.jpeg 3200w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1243322845-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">Arsenal’s Portuguese midfielder Fabio Vieira celebrates scoring the team’s third goal during the English Premier League football match between Brentford and Arsenal at the Gtech Community Stadium in London on September 18, 2022. (Photo by IAN KINGTON/AFP via Getty Images)</p>
</div>
</div>
<h2>3. Vieira steps up superbly in Odegaard’s absence</h2>
<p>When rumblings came through that Martin Odegaard was going to miss out, previously, there would have been a groan of disappointment. But with Fabio Vieira, the backup of sorts, the tension was elevated somewhat.</p>
<p>The Portuguese midfielder produced a good performance on his league debut. His game is similar to the Arsenal captain in that he floats across the lines, picks up good positions, and finds little pockets of space in the final third, and oh, he can hit a ball too.</p>
<div class="embed ">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Fabio Vieira's first Arsenal goal is a thing of beauty 😍</p>
<p>Curling away from the 'keeper and into the net off the post from range.</p>
<p>A stunning strike.</p>
<p>Watch | <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/09/19/brentford-0-3-arsenal-3-talking-points-resounding-win/"https://t.co/acXeVpnb8Y">https://t.co/acXeVpnb8Y#PL</a> <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/09/19/brentford-0-3-arsenal-3-talking-points-resounding-win/"https://twitter.com/hashtag/OptusSport?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>#OptusSport</a> <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/09/19/brentford-0-3-arsenal-3-talking-points-resounding-win/"https://t.co/Bb8g2UzJgo">pic.twitter.com/Bb8g2UzJgo
<p>— Optus Sport (@OptusSport) <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/09/19/brentford-0-3-arsenal-3-talking-points-resounding-win/"https://twitter.com/OptusSport/status/1571473067863601154?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>September 18, 2022</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/09/19/brentford-0-3-arsenal-3-talking-points-resounding-win/"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></div>
<p>His debut goal sealed the result for the Gunners as he lashed home from range. This type of performance from Vieira gives confidence to the fanbase and Mikel Arteta that there is firepower on the bench when needed.</p><!—pageview_candidate—>">
