Ivan Toney's name will be on many Arsenal supporters' Christmas card list this year after his dramatic brace saw Brentford grab all three points against Manchester City. The result means the Gunners will be top of the Premier League on Christmas Day for the first time since 2007.
As expected, Pep Guardiola's side dominated the game with 75% possession and 29 shots but they couldn't unlock the Bees' defence and Toney's 98th-minute winner opened the door for Mikel Arteta's side to go five points clear at the top of the table this evening.
Despite starting the 2022/23 season with eye-catching results over Tottenham, Liverpool and Chelsea, plenty have continued to rule a first Premier League title in north London since 2004. But now, following City's defeat, many will well and truly begin to admit the Gunners' presence in the title race.
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City have been tipped to win their fifth league title in six years due to their squad depth in comparison to Arsenal's. However, Edu and Arteta are set to re-think their transfer strategy for the January transfer window with the likes of Palmeiras midfielder Danilo and Shakhtar Donetsk's Mykhaylo Mudryk linked with a possible move.
But Brentford and Toney proved in over 90 minutes of Premier League football that Guardiola's men are beatable, giving Arteta food for thought for the 2023 double-header between the two sides. After the game, Toney heaped praise on his teammates for their resilience.
"What we're doing week in, week out on the training pitch, we can do things like this," he said to BT Sport. "They might be Man City but they're humans and humans can lose games. Dedication and wanting to work hard for each other, we showed that today and I think we deserved the three points at the end."
The Gunners are scheduled to travel to the Etihad Stadium on April 26 with the reverse fixture yet to be given a new date after being postponed due to Queen Elizabeth II's death in September.
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