Goals from Merino and Saka give Gunners hard-fought 2-0 win against Brentford

Arsenal restored their five-point lead at the top of the Premier League with a 2-0 victory over Brentford, as Mikel Merino scored one goal and assisted the other for Bukayo Saka.

Having seen Manchester City cut their advantage to two points with Tuesday's topsy-turvy 5-4 win at Fulham, the Gunners responded with a professional display at Emirates Stadium.

Merino's header from Ben White's hanging cross gave them a flying start, though they were indebted to David Raya for making a superb save to deny Kevin Schade at the other end.

Having rotated his line-up, Mikel Arteta introduced Eberechi Eze and Saka from the bench shortly after the hour mark, and the latter got the clinching goal in second-half stoppage time, aided by some suspect goalkeeping from Caoimhin Kelleher.

While the victory strengthens Arsenal's grip on top spot ahead of Saturday's tricky trip to Aston Villa, Brentford drop one place in the table, to 13th.

How the match unfolded

Arsenal probed straight from kick-off and got their reward 11 minutes in, as Noni Madueke's clever backheel released White down the right flank, and the full-back's cross was planted home by Merino.

Further tricky footwork from Madueke led to a shot straight at Kelleher, before Schade's header from a corner was brilliantly pushed on to the crossbar by Raya.

Raya's crucial save to deny Schade

But that was a rare foray forward for Brentford as Arsenal bossed the remainder of the first half; Gabriel Martinelli fired over, before Madueke was denied by Rico Henry's last-gasp challenge.

After a quiet start to the second half, Kelleher repelled low drives from Riccardo Calafiori and Declan Rice, with Merino poking wide on the rebound from the latter attempt.

Rice then hobbled off after taking a knock in a sight that will concern Arteta, but his team made sure of the points when Merino released Saka into the area, and Kelleher palmed his shot up into the air and across the line.

Wingers impress as Gunners grind out victory

Arteta suggested on the eve of this game that he could shuffle his pack, but it was still something of a surprise to see both Eze and Saka among the substitutes.

However, those that came into the Gunners' line-up made their mark, none more so than Madueke.

For Merino's goal, Madueke bamboozled Brentford's defence with his flick around the corner, allowing White – another of those elevated to the starting line-up as Jurrien Timber got a rest – to supply the assist.

Timber's rest only lasted 41 minutes as he was summoned to replace Cristhian Mosquera when the centre-back fell awkwardly and limped off late in the first half. With William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes already out, Arteta will be praying for positive news on Mosquera's condition.

He will also hope no lasting damage was suffered by Rice, who appeared to be moving comfortably when applauding the home fans after the full-time whistle.

Those were the only real concerns as Arsenal cruised home, with Saka sealing the result after he was teed up by Merino – repaying the favour after Saka assisted the Spaniard during Sunday's 1-1 draw with Chelsea.

A trip to Villa Park will offer a stern test of Arsenal's credentials on Saturday, but Arteta will be delighted to get back to winning ways.

Andrews' changes fall flat

Brentford continued their excellent home form with a 3-1 victory over Burnley on Saturday – their third straight Premier League triumph at the Gtech Community Stadium.

But the Bees have found things more difficult on their travels since Keith Andrews took the reins, with their only points in six road trips this season coming via a 2-0 win over struggling West Ham United in October.

And that did not change in north London, after Andrews joined Arteta in rotating his squad.

Jordan Henderson, Mikkel Damsgaard and Igor Thiago were among five players to drop out of their line-up, but all three were sent on just after the hour mark, with Schade's header representing Brentford's only shot on target before then.

However, even their introductions could not change the flow of the game, with Brentford spending long periods penned back in a 5-3-2 shape and neither Schade nor Dango Ouattara able to provide an outlet.

Andrews will be frustrated by his team's failure to ever truly threaten a fightback, with a wayward attempt from Keane Lewis-Potter being the best of their second-half efforts.

With a trip to Tottenham Hotspur – where they will face former boss Thomas Frank – in the diary for Saturday, Brentford will hope for a significant improvement.

What the managers said

Mikel Arteta: "It is always uncomfortable against Brentford because they just need a throw. One-nil is never enough against them. We dominated the game, created the biggest chances, only conceded one chance from a corner, I think. Overall, I'm very happy. The week that we had, three days later, without any kind of recovery, to do what we’ve done again, I’m very proud of the players."

Keith Andrews: "I felt we unnerved them, we made life very, very uncomfortable in the second half. Between their goals, I felt we were very, very good and caused them an untold amount of problems from our aggressive behaviour with and without the ball, and our set-pieces. It’s a really difficult place to come and do that to the level of opposition we’ve just faced. To say I’m proud of the boys would be an understatement." (premierleague.com)