MY ACCOUNT
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta heaped praise on young England stars Emile Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka after they fired the Gunners to a 2-1 win over Brentford.
Smith Rowe and Saka struck in the second half to down a resolute Bees team, with Smith Rowe taking his tally to nine Premier League goals this season, a tally bettered only by Raheem Sterling (10) among English players in the competition this term.
Saka, meanwhile, has now registered 11 Premier League goal involvements this campaign (seven goals and four assists), the most of any player under the age of 21 and a tally only bettered by Jarrod Bowen (16), Mason Mount (13), and Trent Alexander-Arnold (12) among English players.
Christian Norgaard grabbed a late consolation for Brentford.
Speaking in the aftermath, Arteta lauded his match-winning youngsters, and saluted a “convincing” Gunners performance.
“They are players that have been raised in our system, and I’m really pleased that we have these players to come and take responsibility,” Arteta said.
“They managed to win the game for us, which is really impressive at that age. I think we played really well [before the first goal], and we created some great chances in the first half without scoring the goal.
“But in the second half we were really convincing, scored the goal, and then it was a matter of scoring the second to kill the game. It’s a shame that we conceded a goal, but overall, I think we should be happy with the result and the performance.”
Arteta also expressed pride in how far his team have come since suffering a 2-0 defeat to the Bees on the opening day of the season, the first of three consecutive reverses in what was a tough period for the Gunners.
“That was an invaluable time for me to understand the people that we have at the club, the players and the staff around here,” Arteta said.
“It was a game-changer, and you learn more about your team in the more difficult moments than you do in the good ones.
“It [the earlier loss to Brentford] hurt, and that scar was there. I certainly felt it, and [today] I tried to transmit to the players how we felt after that game.”
Arsenal’s victory moved them to within a single point of fourth-placed Manchester United with two games in hand, and denied Brentford the opportunity to become the first newly promoted team to register a Premier League double over the Gunners since Blackburn Rovers in 1992-93.
