Premier League action for 2025 kicked off in dramatic fashion as Arsenal went from the edge of going 2-0 down to coming out of the London derby against Brentford with a 3-1 win in a Premier League match on New Year’s Day.
Bryan Mbeumo had put the Bees ahead after 13 minutes while a mistake from Arsenal keeper, David Raya, almost led to Brentford going 2-0 up after 28 minutes.
Raya had fumbled a shot on target and had to scramble back to make a goal-line save, which proved crucial as Arsenal striker, Gabriel Jesus, made it 1-1 just a minute later with a headed rebound after Mark Flekken saved a Thomas Partey shot.
Arsenal showed more urgency in the second half and reaped the dividends with two goals in three minutes to go 3-1 up within 10 minutes of the restart.
Brentford struggled to deal with a corner-kick from Ethan Nwaneri and Mikel Merino was on hand to score in the 50th minute, before another Nwaneri ball in caused more defensive headache for Brentford, allowing Gabriel Martinelli to volley in the third goal.
The result puts Arsenal back in second place on the Premier League table with 39 points, six points behind league leaders, Liverpool, who also have a game in hand.