Spirited Bees bow out after worrying Arsenal

Arsenal 3 Brentford 1

Brentford worried Arsenal with a second-half rally before bowing out of the Carabao Cup.

Outclassed in the first half and trailing to two Danny Welbeck goals, the Bees were excellent after the break and Alan Judge’s superb free-kick hauled them back into the game.

Sergi Canos went close to equalising and Arsenal were under pressure but managed to hold out, with Alexandre Lacazette adding a third for them in injury time.  

England forward Welbeck put his side ahead after five minutes, heading home Matteo Guendouzi’s cross.

Welbeck’s second, scored eight minutes before the break, rounded off a superb Gunners move which started with keeper Bernd Leno.

Henrik Mkhitaryan galloped forward and played the ball left to Alex Iwobu, who in turn found the overlapping Nacho Monreal, who set up Welbeck for a simple finish from seven yards out.

It was straightfoward for Arsenal up to that point – but Brentford made them sweat after the restart.

Judge’s brilliant strike at the Emirates Stadium – his first goal for the Bees since February 2016, weeks before suffering the double leg break which kept him sidelined for 20 months – was certainly a moment to remember.