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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Chris Doyle

Arsenal 2-1 Brentford: 5 talking points as Emile Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka shine

Emile Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka dazzled for Arsenal as they sealed a hard-fought win over Brentford.

The academy graduates have been instrumental for the Gunners all season long as they push for a top-four finish.

And the young duo were the match winners once again for the hosts who sealed a 2-1 victory against the Bees.

Arsenal were well on top in the first half but couldn't make their dominance count as Mikel Arteta's men were wasteful in front of goal.

But Smith Rowe opened the scoring early in the second half before Saka secured the three points towards the end with a clinical finish.

Brentford got a consolation at the end through Christian Noergaard but it wasn't enough to steal a point.

Here are the talking points from the Premier League clash.

Saka shines

Bukayo Saka seems to get better every week and everything good for Arsenal came through him down the right-hand side.

The winger went on several marauding runs into the opposition's box as he danced past the Brentford defence with ease.

He executed his patent move of cutting in on his left foot on various occasions but just didn't have the end product in the first half.

That wasn't the case after the break as Saka sealed the win for Arsenal with ten minutes to go with a powerful strike in off the post.

Saka's meteoric rise is a huge plus for Mikel Arteta, but there will be lingering concerns on who is going to give him a helping hand.

Smith Rowe magic

Emile Smith Rowe certainly fits that bill and it was the rising star who broke the deadlock early on in the second half.

The youngster was a standout on his return to the starting line-up as he drifted off the left drilling a low shot into the bottom corner.

Smith Rowe has been a revelation this season and has been hard done by to find himself out of the team in recent months.

But with his tenth goal of the season, he has sent Arteta a timely reminder he should be one of the first names on the teamsheet.

Bukayo Saka was a constant threat against Brentford (Getty)

Arsenal's major flaw

Alexandre Lacazette has been leading the line for Arsenal since Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's first-team exodus that led to his eventual departure to Barcelona.

The Frenchman's work ethic and the shift he puts in for the team cannot be faulted, but there is a feeling he lacks the quality that an Arsenal no.9 should possess.

His lack of goals backs up this assumption and it was a case of the same old story against Brentford as he missed several chances.

In the first half, he actually had the ball in the back of the net, but failed to time his run as he drifted offside.

Arsenal were well on top in the opening stages but had nothing to show for it which has been the story of their season so far.

They recorded 16 shots in the first half, a Premier League record this season, but only two were on target.

Edu in the stands

Arsenal's sporting director Edu got a front-row seat of today's performance.

The Gunners chief was in attendance at the Emirates to watch the game and it will have given him plenty of food for thought.

Arsenal's pursuit of a striker in the January window was well documented as they missed out on several targets including Dusan Valhovic.

And it's clearly something they'll have to address in the summer as they struggled at the top end of the pitch once again.

Individuals are playing for their future with another window of wholesale changes expected and Edu will have got a close look at who he wants to be a part of their project.

Alexandre Lacazette missed several chances in the first half for Arsenal (Getty)

Brentford in trouble

Brentford started the season brilliantly since coming up from the Championship and looked a certainty to stay up at Christmas.

The odds are still in their favour, but the teams behind them are hot on their tails as Burnley and Watford sealed vital wins.

The Beers offered nothing for the first 70 minutes as they put eleven men behind the ball.

They showed signs of life in the last 20 minutes with Noergaard's stoppage-time goal but it was too little too late and they'll need to regroup after another disappointing defeat.

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