LONDON: Mikel Arteta saluted “adorable” Kai Havertz after the German sent Arsenal to the top of the Premier League with the last-gasp goal that clinched a 1-0 win at Brentford on Saturday.
Havertz was a Champions League final hero for Chelsea in 2021, but he has endured a torrid time since crossing London to join Arsenal in the close-season.
The 24-year-old midfielder finally gave a glimpse of why Arteta splashed out £65 million ($80 million) to sign him when he headed home in the closing minutes.
Havertz’s second goal for Arsenal was his first in his last 10 appearances, moving his team one point clear of second placed Manchester City, who were held to a 1-1 draw by third placed Liverpool earlier in the day.
“That is the beautiful thing about life. When you have challenges and you have to overcome them, it makes these moments much better,” Arteta said.
“That is the reason the people reacted to him like that today. It is because he is adorable and he is a joy to work with. He fully deserves more than anybody to get that win.”
Arsenal’s third successive win in all competitions proved they have erased the bitter taste of their controversial VAR-aided defeat at Newcastle earlier in November.
Arteta’s men had already won at the Gtech Community Stadium in the League Cup in September and they left it late before making it another successful trip to west London.
“I love winning and we are top of the table. This is where we have to want to be,” Arteta said.
“When you have an opportunity to take a bite out of everybody you have to do it.
“I was really curious how the team was going to do. Winter has started, it was very cold and it is difficult coming to Brentford. I loved the way the team competed.”
With on-loan Arsenal keeper David Raya not eligible to play against his parent club, Aaron Ramsdale made his first league start since September 3.
Ramsdale’s father recently criticized Arteta’s handling of the Arsenal goalkeeping controversy, with the England international surprisingly losing his place to Raya despite recording the second most Premier League clean-sheets last season.
But Arteta’s faith in Raya received a boost when Ramsdale, his confidence clearly affected by his spell on the bench, almost gifted Brentford the lead with a horrendous mistake early in the first half.
Trying to play out from the six-yard box after Gabriel’s back-pass, Ramsdale panicked under pressure from Yoane Wissa.
Ramsdale missed his kick and the ball rolled to Bryan Mbeumo, whose shot was cleared off the line by Declan Rice before Wissa stabbed the rebound wide.
Arteta refused to be drawn on Ramsdale’s shaky performance, saying only: “I am really happy with the team and the way the team played and we kept the clean sheet.”
After a slow start from Arsenal, they finally showed signs of life when Trossard headed Oleksandr Zinchenko’s cross over before Gabriel nodded into the side-netting.
Arsenal thought they had taken the lead in the 42nd minute when Gabriel Jesus met Bukayo Saka’s cross with a header that was parried by Mark Flekken and Leandro Trossard nodded home from close-range.
But a VAR check decided Trossard was narrowly offside, giving Arteta another dose of frustration at the hands of the review system.
Brentford nearly made Arsenal pay for their lethargy as Neal Maupay’s header was brilliantly cleared off the line by the stretching Zinchenko before the French forward poked the rebound wastefully wide.
That proved a crucial moment as Havertz came off the bench to win it in the 89th minute.
Saka’s cross picked out Havertz’s run to the far post and the German guided his header past Flekken as Arteta jumped for joy on the touchline.
‘Adorable’ Havertz ends goal drought to fire Arsenal into top spot
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‘Adorable’ Havertz ends goal drought to fire Arsenal into top spot
- The 24-year-old midfielder finally gave a glimpse of why Arteta splashed out $80 million to sign him
- Havertz’s second goal for Arsenal was his first in his last 10 appearances
Newcastle’s Howe slams ‘stonewall penalty’ snub as defensive woes continue
- Howe was left frustrated after his team let slip another two-goal lead
NEWCASTLE: Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe criticized the referee for not awarding a “stonewall penalty” in the 2-2 draw with Chelsea on Saturday, dismissing the officials’ explanations as his side extended their alarming habit of dropping points after leading.
Howe was left frustrated after his team let slip another two-goal lead, with Newcastle now dropping 13 points from winning positions this season after Nick Woltemade’s first-half double was canceled out by Chelsea’s second-half comeback.
But Newcastle felt aggrieved when Trevoh Chalobah made a robust challenge on Anthony Gordon in the second half, with appeals for a penalty dismissed by the referee and VAR.
“I think it’s a clear penalty. I think anywhere else on the pitch, that’s a free kick,” Howe told TNT Sports.
“I think the player has got into Anthony aggressively, too aggressively in my opinion, so I think it’s a stonewall.”
The Premier League match center said a penalty was denied because contact from Chalobah on Gordon was deemed to be “side-to-side in a shielding action” and because the ball was “within playing distance” — an explanation Howe rejected outright.
“No, because it’s not. I think the defender’s only look is Anthony, not the ball, and I think it’s too aggressive,” he added.
Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca said he did not see it as a penalty but was happy to take a point under the circumstances.
“I think there are not many teams that are 2-0 down at halftime — against this team in this stadium — and they can come back,” he said.
“Today I’m very happy because I feel proud of the players. It’s not easy at 2-0 down to show character and come back ... The game was 50-50 and enjoyable for the fans.”
NEWCASTLE SQUANDER LEAD
Howe will lament his side failing to win at St. James’ Park, where Reece James and Joao Pedro salvaged a point for Chelsea.
Newcastle have now gone 10 Premier League games without a clean sheet to leave them 11th and could slip down the table depending on results over the rest of the weekend.
“We’ve not done our jobs and followed through and won today, but that’s something we’re reflecting on and analizing all the time” Howe said.
“I think we’ve been in a good place since the last international break. When we returned and we beat Manchester City (in November), I think we’ve seen a big upturn in the consistency of performance.
“We had the dip at Sunderland (a 1-0 defeat), but that apart, I think we’ve been very good. I’m positive about the team and the trajectory we’re on. I’m disappointed with the results.”
