Arsenal beat Brentford to extend Premier League lead: Key stats
What's the story
Arsenal reclaimed their five-point lead at the top of the Premier League table with a 2-0 victory over Brentford. Matchday 14 of the Premier League 2025-26 season saw Mikel Merino and Bukayo Saka score for the Gunners, who extended their unbeaten run to 18 matches across all competitions. The win also marked Arsenal's eighth consecutive victory at home. Here are further details and stats.
Match highlights
Merino's goal and Saka's late strike secure victory
Manager Mikel Arteta made three changes from the side that drew with Chelsea on Sunday, bringing in Ben White, Noni Madueke, and captain Martin Odegaard. The first goal of the match came from Merino in the 11th minute, with White providing the assist. Despite being forced to play as Arsenal's frontman due to injuries, Merino shone once again. Saka then added a second in stoppage time after being set up by Merino from midfield.
Match challenges
Brentford's near equalizer and Arsenal's injury concerns
Despite Arsenal dominating the game, Brentford nearly equalized in the first half when Kevin Schade's header from a corner was saved onto the crossbar by David Raya. However, Arteta will be worried about Cristhian Mosquera and Declan Rice who were both substituted due to injuries during the match.
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A look at the points table
Arsenal are top of the standings with 33 points collected. This was their 10th win of the season (D3 L1). Arsenal's goal difference is +20. On the other hand, Brentford are 13th with 19 points from 14 games (W6 D1 L7).
Match stats
Here are the match stats
Arsenal had 62% ball possession and completed 84% of their passes. Arteta's men had an xG of 1.72 compared to Brentford's 0.34. The Gunners managed 7 shots on target from 15 attempts. Brentford had one shot on target from six attempts. Brentford earned as many as 8 corners compared to Arsenal's 4. They also hit the post once. Arsenal created 2 big chances with Brentford creating one. Arsenal had 28 touches in the opposition box with Brentford managing 12.
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Saka gets to 57 Premier League goals
Making his 207th Premier League appearance, Saka now owns 57 goals. He also has 46 assists. In 12 matches this season, he has 4 goals and an assist. Overall, Saka has 77 goals for Arsenal in 281 appearances.
Merino
Merino gets to 14 goals for Arsenal across all competitions
Former Newcastle midfielder Merino has now got to 11 Premier League goals from 65 appearances. He owns 6 assists. As many as 10 of his goals have come for Arsenal in 41 Premier League games. The ongoing season sees him get to 3 Premier League goals from 13 matches (A3). Overall, he has 14 goals in all competitions for Arsenal across 64 career matches.
Do you know?
Merino attains these records
As per Opta, since the start of last season, no Premier League player has scored more headed goals in all competitions than Arsenal's Merino, heading in eight of his 14 goals in that time. As per Squawka, Merino has scored more Premier League goals in 2025 than any other Arsenal player (9).