AARON RAMSDALE silenced the abuse of the Brentford fans as Arsenal edged their way into the last 16 of the Carabao Cup.
The England international keeper was taunted as a “s*** David Raya” on his return to first-team action for the Gunners.
But it was Ramsdale who had the last laugh as his stunning second-half save from Yoane Wissa was enough to see his team over the line courtesy of Reiss Nelson’s early strike.
Mikel Arteta always claims that the aim for Arsenal is to win every competition they play. But we all know that’s not strictly true.
The reality is that no one really gives a toss about the Carabao Cup at the Emirates because they have bigger fish to fry these days.
But it remains a useful opportunity to give some of the fringe players a run-out…even if most of them know it’s like a glorified reserve match.
So this was the perfect time for Emile Smith Rowe to step out of the shadows and end 499 days without a first-team start for the Gunners.
This was the midfielder’s 100th appearance for the club and it was immediately apparent that he was out to show Arteta what he has been missing.
The former England international was one of the eight changes to the team which had drawn with Spurs in Sunday’s North London derby, with 19-year-old Charles Sagoe Jr making his debut on the right wing in place of Bukayo Saka.
Brentford stuck pretty much with the team which had lost 3-1 at home to Everton and if Thomas Frank was hoping to see a reaction to that dismal display he was to be sorely disappointed.
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Having been opened up by the worst attack in the Premier League at the weekend, it was no surprise that it took them just eight minutes to fall behind again last night.
And once again they were the architects of their own downfall when Zanka’s wayward back pass was picked off by Eddie Nketiah before Nelson calmly rolled his shot past Mark Flekken.
The visitors were passing the ball around for fun and almost doubled their lead in the 30th minute when Smith Rowe swapped passes with stand-in skipper Jorginho before his shot was saved by Flekken with an outstretched leg.
Brentford’s only response was to go quick and long and it almost paid off when Vitaly Janelt’s powerful shot was blocked by Takehiro Tomiyasu.
And they should have been level in the 34th minute when Yoane Wissa found himself completely free in the Arsenal area with only Ramsdale to beat but somehow managed to drag his shot wide.
It was a welcome let-off for Ramsdale, who was desperate to mark his return to the starting line-up with a clean sheet.
He was serenaded throughout the night with chants of “England’s number one” from the travelling Arsenal fans making it clear that he remains deep in their affections.
But no one made him feel more comfortable than the wayward Brentford attack which failed to test him with a single shot on target until the 66th minute.
And when Wissa finally found his range, Ramsdale responded with a splendid full-length save to tip the ball against the base of his far post.
It was the kind of match-winning contribution Ramsdale had been dreaming of, so it was no surprise when he celebrated his act of defiance in front of the Brentford fans who had been questioning his ability.
But with Brentford pushing harder and more powerfully in search of an equaliser, Arteta was forced to send on the big guns of Gabriel Jesus, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Martin Odegaard to see his team over the line.
Nelson should have put the tie to bed in the 70th minute when he was teed up by Kai Havertz but rolled his shot wide when he should have scored.
That made for a nervous last 20 minutes for Arteta as Ramsdale was forced back into action to push away Frank Onyeka’s shot before Tomiyasu applied another important block to deny Saman Ghoddos.
Ramsdale was finally beaten in the 84th minute when Keane Lewis-Potter was left completely free to pick his spot, but Jakub Kiwior raced back to pull off a stunning goal-line clearance.
And that was just about enough to see Arsenal into the fourth-round draw for another Carabao Cup tie which they really could do without.
