EPL: Arsenal return to the top as they beat Brentford 3-0
Arsenal returned to the top of the Premier League as Fabio Vieira’s first goal for the club helped secure a 3-0 win over Brentford.
Vieira, making his first Premier League start in the absence of the injured Martin Odegaard, rifled a stunning effort in off the post from 25 yards out (49) to cap a commanding victory for Mikel Arteta’s men.
Earlier, the impressive William Saliba had opened the scoring with a flicked, near-post header from Bukayo Saka’s corner (17), before Gabriel Jesus doubled Arsenal’s advantage with a similarly well-taken header from Granit Xhaka’s diagonal centre (28).
The Gunners’ last visit to the Gtech Community Stadium ended in a dismal 2-0 defeat on the opening day of last season but on this occasion they were totally dominant, the victory underlining their recent improvement and sending them a point clear of Manchester City and Tottenham at the top of the Premier League table.
Arsenal even had time to make Premier League history in stoppage time, sending on academy player Ethan Nwaneri, who only turned 15 in March, to become the youngest-ever player to feature in the competition.
Nwaneri, who is 15 years and 181 days old, came on as a substitute for Vieira in the second minute of stoppage time, the first player under 16 to play in the competition.
The previous youngest player to feature in the league was Harvey Elliott, now of Liverpool, who was 16 years and 38 days old when he made his top-flight debut for Fulham
Arsenal are on 18 points from the opening seven matches of the season, with defending champions Manchester City a point behind and North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur also on 17 points.
The defeat leaves Brentford in ninth place on nine points.
After the international break, Brentford travel to Bournemouth while Arsenal host rivals Tottenham Hotspur with both games taking place on Saturday October 1.
