Arsenal returned to the top of the Premier League as Fabio Vieira’s first goal for the club helped secure a 3-0 win over Brentford.
Vieira, making his first Premier League start in the absence of the injured Martin Odegaard, rifled a stunning effort in off the post from 25 yards out (49) to cap a commanding victory for Mikel Arteta’s men.
Earlier, the impressive William Saliba had opened the scoring with a flicked, near-post header from Bukayo Saka’s corner (17), before Gabriel Jesus doubled Arsenal’s advantage with a similarly well-taken header from Granit Xhaka’s diagonal centre (28).
The Gunners’ last visit to the Gtech Community Stadium ended in a dismal 2-0 defeat on the opening day of last season but on this occasion they were totally dominant, the victory underlining their recent improvement and sending them a point clear of Manchester City and Tottenham at the top of the Premier League table.
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How Arsenal cruised to victory
The atmosphere was subdued before kick-off, with players and supporters observing a minute’s silence in tribute to Queen Elizabeth II, followed by a rendition of the national anthem.
When the action got underway, though, Arsenal provided an immediate clue of what was to come as Xhaka combined with Martinelli inside the Brentford box, only for the Brazilian to lose his footing before connecting with his shot.
The Gunners didn’t have to wait long for the breakthrough, however, with Saliba’s header from Saka’s corner clearly bouncing over the line after hitting the inside of David Raya’s right-hand post.
It was the Frenchman’s second goal of the campaign and he was equally impressive defensively, helping to shackle Ivan Toney following the Brentford striker’s England call-up this week.
Arsenal’s second goal came from a familiar source, Jesus netting for the fourth time this season as he headed Xhaka’s superb delivery just out of reach of Raya.
Brentford could not get a foothold in the game and Arsenal effectively ended it as contest soon after half-time when Vieira collected a Saka pass in space outside the Brentford box and unleashed a powerful strike that crashed in off the post.
The Gunners continued to dominate, with Raya twice denying Jesus and also making a superb one-handed save from Saka, but the three-goal cushion proved more than enough to take Arsenal top and there was more reason for the visiting fans to cheer when Nwaneri was thrown on in the closing stages.
Nwaneri the record-breaker – Opta stats
At the age of 15 years and 181 days, Arsenal’s Ethan Nwaneri became the youngest ever player to appear in a Premier League match. The previous-youngest had been Harvey Elliott, who played for Fulham at the age of 16 years and 30 days (vs Wolves in May 2019).Only Erling Haaland (12) has been directly involved in more Premier League goals than Arsenal’s Gabriel Jesus this season (seven – four goals and three assists). Indeed, no Arsenal player has ever had more combined goals and assists through their first seven Premier League appearances for the club.Of the 19 players to have scored on their first start for Arsenal in the Premier League, Fabio Vieira is the first to have found the net from outside the box.
What’s next?
After the international break, Brentford travel to Bournemouth (3pm), while Arsenal host rivals Tottenham Hotspur (12.30pm), with both games taking place on Saturday October 1.
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Fabio Vieira opened his Arsenal account with a stunning third
Arsenal even had time to make Premier League history in stoppage time as Arteta sent on academy player Ethan Nwaneri, who only turned 15 in March, to become the youngest-ever player to feature in the competition.