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Kai Havertz scores late winner sends Arsenal top with Brentford win

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Arsenal travelled to the Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday knowing three points would send them top of the Premier League, and left it very late to get the job done through super-sub Kai Havertz

Both teams had opportunities to lead at the break, but it was goalless at half-time thanks to a goal-line clearance and a narrow offside call. The visitors had only failed to score in one of their games this season, in all competitions, but were made to work hard by their fellow Londoners.

Mikel Arteta’s team needed their defenders to have their wits about them, with Declan Rice and Oleksandr Zinchenko both producing goal-line clearances. And they got their reward in the final minute as Havertz snuck home a header at the back post.

The Gunners survived an early scare after a nervy moment for goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale, but grew into the first half and gradually began to pose more of a threat to Mark Flekken’s goal. They thought they had a breakthrough shortly before half-time, only for VAR to rule that Leandro Trossard had strayed narrowly offside before finding the net.

There were chances in the second half as well, but there was always a danger the Bees might take advantage of gaps at the back. Neal Maupay almost did just that, only for Zinchenko to rescue the away side.

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Just as it looked as though the game would end all square, Havertz found a late, late breakthrough with a goal which could well kick-start his Arsenal career. Here are the main talking points from West London.

Talking points:

1. Ramsdale feeling the pressure

Aaron Ramsdale was always going to start this game, with David Raya ineligible to face his parent club. The England international will have been hoping for a quiet start with limited pressure, but he brought some on himself and was very nearly caught out.

After taking too long on the ball, he allowed Yoane Wissa to nip in and take the ball off his toes. Ramsdale’s distribution has come under scrutiny, at least compared to that of Raya, and on this occasion only a goal-line clearance from Declan Rice saved the Gunners after Wissa teed up Bryan Mbeumo for what looked like a certain goal.
Late on, though, he seemed to have his mojo back. After claiming a high cross, he was praised by his team-mates for helping seal victory

2. Havertz responds to being dropped

Leandro Trossard kept his place in the Arsenal team despite Gabriel Jesus joining Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka in the front three. The Belgian operated in a deeper role occupied by Kai Havertz earlier in the campaign.

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Late in the first half, it looked as though the attacking tweak had paid off for Mikel Arteta as Trossard bundled the ball home. It wasn’t to be, though, with the narrowest of offside calls denying Arsenal’s number 19.

There were fewer positive after the break, with Brentford seemingly having more of an answer to the visitors’ tactics. Sure enough, Havertz got his introduction late on and delivered the crucial late winner for the away side. A start in Europe in midweek may well be his reward.

3. Both teams could do with Toney

For everything Gabriel Jesus offers in link-up play, he has never been a prolific goalscorer. An interview in Brazil during the international break appeared to reinforce that, and all eyes were on the number nine as he came back into the starting XI.

For all the initial debate over Trossard’s disallowed goal, Jesus could have made the flag immaterial. He timed his run perfectly to meet a Bukayo Saka cross, but gave Flekken the chance to make a save when a more accurate connection would have put Arsenal in front.

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At the other end, Mbeumo’s early failure to convert and a mistimed second-half effort from sub Neal Maupay saw some people’s attention turn to Toney. The England striker has been linked with Arsenal himself, with a summer move appearing more likely than a January switch, but on this occasion the focus was on what Brentford are lacking without the man who hit 20 league goals last term.

4. PGMOL escape more Arteta drama

Arsenal were victims of VAR controversy in their 1-1 draw with Brentford last term, and the officials will have been keen to avoid a repeat. After all, there has already been long-running drama between Mikel Arteta and the PGMOL in recent weeks.

The Gunners boss made clear his issues with the officiating when his team lost to Newcastle before jokingly insisting he wanted to praise VAR when his team followed up that defeat with a victory over Burnley. Whatever happened at the Gtech Community Stadium, any contentious call was likely to get plenty of attention.

Fortunately, then, even Arteta couldn’t have any complaints about the disallowed goal. Well, apart from perhaps being frustrated Trossard wasn’t able to hold his run.

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Arsenal thump Chelsea to go three points clear at top of table

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Arsenal laid waste to Chelsea in an absolute thrashing to establish a three-point lead at the top of the Premier League table.

Leandro Trossard gave Arsenal the lead inside four minutes when he collected Declan Rice’s pass and blasted through Djordje Petrovic at the near post. Chelsea came close from a corner when Benoit Badashile flicked narrowly past Axel Disasi, while Nicolas Jackson’s cross hit the post after a deflection from Gabriel Magalhaes, but they couldn’t find the equaliser, with Enzo Fernandez side-footing wide.

 

The Blues were reliant on Petrovic at the other end to keep them in it, the Serbian goalkeeper saving from Kai Havertz a few seconds before producing a stunning reaction stop from Trossard’s deflected effort. Petrovic was there again to save from the influential Rice after the break, but he could not stop Ben White from finding the net from a loose ball.


It was then that things really got out of hand, with Havertz racing onto a fabulous pass from Martin Odegaard to make it 3-0 and adding another eight minutes later with a precise finish into the bottom corner. It got even better for Arsenal when White’s attempted cushioned cross flew into the top corner for 5-0, allowing Mikel Arteta to rest his match-winners as the “oles” rang out from the stands. Here are the talking points from the Emirates Stadium.

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Some might call it a sliding doors moment. Rewind to the January transfer window of 2023 and Arsenal were trying their best to sign Mykhaylo Mudryk from Shakhtar Donetsk. In the end, they were gazumped by Chelsea, who splashed out the princely sum of £88.5million to sign the Ukraine international. Arsenal reacted by landing Trossard for £27m from Brighton.

With the benefit of hindsight that looks like a bargain. After rifling one through Petrovic inside the fourth minute, Trossard now has five goals in his last nine games for Arsenal – including two in the Champions League. The Belgian has proven himself the perfect utility player and now commands a place in the starting XI ahead of Gabriel
Martinelli.

 

Arsenal run riot

Thomas Partey was making just his second Premier League start in eight months for Arsenal. And while he wasn’t the player earning the plaudits in the stands, he was the one allowing the carnage to take place in front of him. Partey’s presence allowed Rice a freer role and he clearly relished it, nicking the ball and charging forward at every opportunity.

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It was his pass from which Trossard opened the scoring and, alongside the brilliant Martin Odegaard, he was the creative fulcrum, dominating the £200m pairing of Fernandez and Moises Caicedo. Arsenal knew they were buying class when they paid a club-record £105m for Rice and he has gone from strength to strength as the season has worn on.

 

Odegaard took the award for pass of the night for his ball for Havertz’s first, as well as the chipped ball for White’s bizarre second. And Saka claimed an assist for the German’s second. But it was the sight of Rice running free that really caught the eye.

To Havertz, the glory

Kai Havertz enjoyed himself in the second half ( Image: Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
Arsenal fans are fond of reminding people that many observers considered the £65m they paid for Kai Havertz to be a waste. Arteta knew how he wanted to use him – as a No8 or as a No9 – and he is being proven right in some style game after game.

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Arsenal bounce back to go top in Wolves win

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Arsenal put their Champions League disappointment firmly in the past to beat Wolves at Molineux and move back to the top of the Premier League.

 

Having blown their chance to leapfrog Pep Guardiola’s side six days ago by losing at home to Aston Villa, then been knocked out of the Champions League by Bayern Munich on Wednesday, it was a welcome triumph for Mikel Arteta’s men.

 

Leandro Trossard’s strike in the last minute of the opening period may not have been the most eye-catching of the Belgian’s career but it was perfectly timed.

It came at the end of a half where Arsenal seemed to have got stuck after a bright start and nearly fell behind to Gary O’Neil’s injury-ravaged side.

 

The visitors dominated the second half too but were unable to carve out the clear chances that would have allowed them to take the game out of reach.

 

Captain Martin Odegaard added the second deep into stoppage time at the end of the game, turning in from a tight angle after his initial cross had been blocked.

 

The result means Arsenal are now a point clear of City, with a better goal difference but having played a game more.

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They have the chance to apply some significant pressure to the defending champions when they entertain beaten FA Cup semi-finalists Chelsea on Tuesday.

 

Tired Wolves’ winless run continues
Wolves’ efforts were recognised positively by fans who stayed behind their team throughout – but when the season draws to a close, how much will they regret allowing Championship Coventry to overturn their injury-time lead in their FA Cup quarter-final at Molineux last month?

A Wembley semi-final this weekend would have lifted a season that has turned into a grind for O’Neil’s squad, who were superb for the first two-thirds of the campaign but now seem affected by a lack of energy and bodies.

 

Joao Gomes forced David Raya to push his angled first-half effort on to a post and substitute Mario Lemina tested the Arsenal keeper with a second-half shot.

 

But they were sporadic moments of attacking invention, with Wolves’ best performers being defenders, particularly captain Max Kilman and Toti, who were outstanding at the heart of the home side’s rearguard action.

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On-loan Tommy Doyle was industrious for Wolves.

However, they have now gone six games without a win in all competitions, their longest run since the end of the 2021-22 season.

 

Chairman Jeff Shi has repeatedly stated the club did not bring in reinforcements during the January window because he was not prepared to risk breaking the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules. However, the feeling will linger that the decision cost Wolves and O’Neil a realistic shot at a top half finish.

 

Trossard strikes the crucial blow
Trossard has been in and out as an Arsenal player since joining from Brighton in a £21m deal in January 2023.

 

The Belgian has still made more substitute appearances than starts in the Premier League for the Gunners – and when things are not going well, he is an obvious candidate to be replaced.

Yet he scores key goals. Since the beginning of last month alone, he has provided a winner against Porto in the Champions League, an equaliser in the home leg of the quarter-final with Bayern Munich, and now his latest effort – which takes him to 14 for the season in all competitions. Only Bukayo Saka has scored more for the Gunners.

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It was a scruffy effort, leaning back and on the stretch to get to Gabriel Jesus’ prodded pass. But it floated right into the top corner, out of goalkeeper Jose Sa’s reach. It changed the complexion of an evening that was starting to get a bit nervy for the visitors, who before that had allowed Wolves back into a game they had initially dominated.

 

At the end of a tough week, it was understandable Arsenal were not at their free-flowing best.

 

Still, they had chances. Kai Havertz swivelled neatly inside the area in both halves. However, on each occasion, the German sent his shot straight at Jose Sa.

 

Declan Rice had four opportunities, including a first-half shot he sent fizzing just wide and an injury-time effort that forced Sa into a decent save. Yet, for all his obvious qualities, the England midfielder is yet to improve his goals output, something he is certainly capable of.

 

It took Odegaard to finally finish Wolves off with a close-range effort in stoppage time.

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Leverkusen win first Bundesliga title, break Bayern’s 11-year run

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Bayer Leverkusen lifted the Bundesliga title for the first time in their 120-year history on Sunday, a 5-0 victory over Werder Bremen breaking Bayern Munich’s 11-year stranglehold on the German top flight.

 

Xabi Alonso’s Leverkusen knew victory would secure the title with five games to spare, but there were no signs of nerves in a dominant performance.

A hat-trick from Florian Wirtz and goals from Victor Boniface and Granit Xhaka extended their unbeaten run to a stunning 43 games in all competitions.

 

Leverkusen’s maiden title, coming after five second-place finishes in their history, keeps their dream of a remarkable treble alive while shedding their unwanted ‘Neverkusen’ nickname for good.

 

With 10 minutes to go, the long-suffering fans began making their way to the sidelines and a few jumped the gun, storming the pitch with the match still ongoing.


Leverkusen fans celebrate after the German first division Bundesliga football match Bayer 04 Leverkusen v Werder Bremen in Leverkusen, western Germany, on April 14, 2024. Bayer Leverkusen were crowned 2023-24 Bundesliga champions for the first time on April 14, 2024. (Photo by INA FASSBENDER / AFP)

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Leverkusen’s players ushered the fans back and some obliged, albeit briefly, with the stands swiftly emptying on the 90-minute mark as tearful fans made their way onto the grass to celebrate with the players.

Leverkusen are now on 79 points — the best tally after 29 games in German league history — and are 16 clear of second-placed Bayern and third-placed Stuttgart.

The Leverkusen bus arrived at the stadium 90 minutes before kick-off, wading through a sea of fans clad in black and red on the way to the 30,000-capacity BayArena.

 

Normally known as Bismarck Street, fans had stuck temporary signs saying ‘Xabi Alonso Street’ along the main road in honour of the club’s coach.

 

Alonso looked ahead to Thursday’s Europa League trip to London to face West Ham, making seven changes to his starting XI and benching stars Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong and Alex Grimaldo, the latter for the first time in the league this season.

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Piero Hincapie, Grimaldo’s replacement, had an early effort at goal saved but it would be the fit-again Boniface, making his first start since mid-December, who put the home side in front.

With 22 minutes gone, Jonas Hofmann was felled in the box by Bremen’s Julian Malatini, with the referee pointing to the spot after VAR urged him to view the contact again on the monitor.

 

Boniface stepped up and nervelessly slotted the penalty past a helpless Michael Zetterer to send the home fans into raptures.

 

Hofmann was almost the provider again shortly before half-time, his pass finding Amine Adli who fired against the crossbar.

 

Bremen started the second-half strongly but their hopes of spoiling the party were snuffed out on the 60-minute mark, Boniface finding Xhaka who unleashed a long-range rocket before slapping his badge in front of the ecstatic home fans.

Wirtz, who came on at half-time for Adli, replicated Xhaka’s effort eight minutes later from almost the same spot on the pitch.

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Wirtz added another with seven minutes remaining before sealing his hat-trick in the 90th minute as Leverkusen rid themselves of their nearly men tag in style.

 

Earlier on Sunday, a 36th-minute goal from Ritsu Doan took Freiburg to a 1-0 win at Darmstadt, pushing the last-placed hosts closer to immediate relegation.

 

Winless since October and with only two victories all year, the loss leaves Darmstadt dead last, eight points from second-last and 13 points from safety with five games remaining.

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