Smith Rowe and Saka score stunning goals in huge boost to top-four hopes

MAYBE it was all just a bad dream after all.

Arsenal supporters feared they were in for yet another season to forget when they were battered into submission by newly promoted Brentford on the opening day of the season.

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But six months on, both teams are virtually unrecognizable after Thomas Frank’s men were blown away by Storm Mikel.

Because now the Gunners are knocking on the door of Champions League qualification while struggling their neighbors are in a tailspin.

Second-half goals from Emile Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka were enough to carry Mikel Arteta’s resurgent team to within a single point of fourth placed Manchester United with two games in hand.

And though they made much harder work of it than they should have done, no-one could question the merit of this latest morale-boosting victory.

Twenty four shots and 14 corners were testimony to Arsenal’s total dominance.

And though Christian Norgaard grabbed a late consolation goal deep into stoppage time, there was never any danger of the visitors impeding their opponents’ progress.

The huge swathes of empty Emirates seats were probably more a reflection of the travel problems caused by the wind and rain than the quality of entertainment on offer.

In fact this was some of the best football Arsenal have served up for quite some time as they penned Brentford into their own half for long periods of the game.

They could have been ahead as early as the third minute when Martin Odegaard’s goal bound header struck Sergei Canos in the face a yard out from goal.

Alexandre Lacazette was denied by a last-ditch challenge from Pontus Jansson before Saka’s shot drew an instinctive reflex save from keeper David Raya.

Lacazette did have the ball in the net after 12 minutes but only after Kieran Tierney had strayed marginally offside to deliver a low cross into the danger zone.

And when the Frenchman then dragged a shot yards wide from the edge of the area, the groans of disappointment echoed around the stadium.

The trouble is that Arsenal have now gone all in on Lacazette to carry their attacking threat for the rest of the season, even though he has only managed three league goals all season.

And while no-one can question his work-rate and commitment in the final months of his Emirates contract, his finishing touch has completely deserted him.

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So Arsenal fans are going to have to strap themselves in and prepare for many more games like this between now and May.

Because it doesn’t matter much possession they enjoy if they don’t have anyone at the sharp end to stick the ball away.

And all it takes is for a team like Brentford to defend their box like men possessed to shred the nerves of football’s jumpiest supporters.

Time and again the visitors put their bodies on the line to keep their opponents at bay and no-one fought harder than Captain Jansson.

The Swedish powerhouse was an absolute rock at the heart of the Brentford defense as he urged his besieged team-mates to greater efforts.

He even took a punch in the face from his own keeper as he bravely headed away from Saka’s first-half cross.

But in the end all his defiance counted for nothing as Smith Rowe became the first Arsenal player this season into double figures.

There didn’t seem much danger when he took a 48th minute pass from Lacazette out wide on the left and more than 40 yards from goal.

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But when Kristoffer Ajer and Sergi Canos left it to each other to make a tackle, the young England star was allowed to run unchallenged to the edge of the area before rolling a shot beyond Raya’s reach.

Saka put the result beyond question 12 minutes from time when he was played in by Thomas Partey to fire an unstoppable shot in off the far post.

And that was always going to be enough to see off a Brentford team who were absolutely toothless without their absent top scorer Ivan Toney.

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It means Thomas Frank’s team have now managed just one point from their last seven games and are starting to look anxiously over their shoulder.

They are still seven points clear of the relegation zone but can’t afford to take their safety for granted if they carry on like this.

And with their next three games against Newcastle, Norwich and Burnley, they really will be in trouble unless they get their act together quickly.

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