London (AFP)
German Kai Havertz led his Arsenal team to a temporary “top spot” in the English Football League, by scoring the winning goal against his guest, Brentford, 2-1, at the opening of the twenty-eighth round.
Arsenal, which rose to first place, thanks to its eighth successive victory in the “Premier League” with 64 points, is awaiting what will lead to the summit of this stage, when former leader Liverpool (63) faces Manchester City, the “defending champion”, which is one point behind it in third place.
Arsenal was forced to compensate for a serious error by its goalkeeper, Aaron Ramsdale, returning to defend his den, to come out with the three points, after he failed to clear a ball, and it collided with the foot of Congolese Yoane Wissa and entered the goal “45 + 4”, realizing the equalizer in response to the goal of the lead from Declan Rice’s header after a pass from Ben. White “19”.
The English goalkeeper participated in the start for only the second time in the league since September 25, and the match against Brentford in particular, as the Spanish loaned goalkeeper, David Raya, was not eligible to participate against his parent club.
Ramsdale made up for his first-half blunder after the break, blocking a wonderful shot from striker Ivan Toney (55') and a header from Irishman Nathan Collins (71'), before Havertz snatched the valuable winning goal and the lead with a header after a second decisive pass from White four minutes before the final whistle. 86».
Spanish coach Mikel Arteta, coach of the Gunners, said about the expected summit between Liverpool and City on Sunday: It will be a wonderful day to watch a wonderful football match. The matter is not in my hands, and it is a pleasure for me to be part of this league, and I am happy to be part of something special. We are trying to achieve it,” stressing that Havertz’s ninth goal, which has been subjected to severe criticism since his move from Chelsea, reflects Arsenal’s thirst to compensate for its eight-point loss in the title race last season, which returned to “City.”
He added, “We showed courage and were rewarded. This is the beautiful thing about this stadium. They support us after mistakes,” referring to goalkeeper Ramsdale's mistake.
On Tuesday, Arsenal is trying to compensate for its 0-1 loss to Porto in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final, before facing heavyweight Manchester City in the league on March 31.
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