Arsenal secure vital late victory over Brentford

Arsenal remain in the hunt for the Premier League title after a late 2-1 victory over Brentford at the Emirates Stadium.

On an afternoon which could have been problematic for the Gunners, Mikel Arteta was forced to change his goalkeeper with David Raya ineligible to play against his parent club.

Aaron Ramsdale was brought in from the cold, yet it was almost a disaster as the England stopper would make a significant mistake in the final embers of the first-half.

Havertz has a knack for important goals

There is something about this Arsenal team that we got glimpses of last season, they simply find a way to win.

It's a vitally important attribute when fighting for the biggest prizes in the sport, although you'd still find it difficult to argue their squad has anywhere near the depth and quality of Manchester City's lavishly assembled troop of superstars.

Declan Rice continued his fine run of form, handing the hosts a lead after 19 minutes. Ben White put a super cross into the penalty area, which was met by the head of the former West Ham skipper and it arrowed inside the left post.

Arsenal held onto this lead into the last minutes of the first-half, when Ramsdale was given the ball inside his own penalty area.

He took a rather cumbersome first touch and was immediately under pressure from Yoane Wissa. Wissa was able to block Ramsdale's attempted clearance and the ball inadvertently looped into the back of the net.

Brentford made much the better start in the second-half, with the Gunners still rattled from Ramsdale's error.

However, the former Bournemouth goalkeeper was able to redeem himself somewhat with a fantastic save from Ivan Toney's long-distance effort.

Toney surprised the Emirates Stadium by attempting a half-volley from almost the half-way line, and it was headed goalwards had it not been for Ramsdale's diving intervention.

With the match heading into a phase best described as 'scrappy' with penalty shouts at either end, Kai Havertz was able to provide the moment of magic that Arsenal so desperately needed.

Another Ben White cross found its way into the penalty area and the German cleverly nodded the ball back across the goalkeeper, preventing him from getting a solid hand to it, and the ball went into the net, securing a vital three points for the Gunners.