(Football news) While Thomas Frank’s team had to overcome a scare to defeat Newport County on penalties in the second round, the Gunners had a bye to this stage of the competition.
James Tarkowski, a defender for Everton, was responsible for the defeat of Brentford during the match against his previous team on Saturday. Much to the astonishment of the home crowd, the Toffees left London with their first Premier League victory of the year.
Abdoulaye Doucoure’s first goal had been initially wiped out by Mathias Jensen’s accurate shot across Jordan Pickford’s goal, but in the second half, Tarkowski climbed highest to meet a corner, and Dominic Calvert-Lewin put the Toffees up a goal before ending his current injury difficulties.
Everton left the Gtech Community Stadium as only the third team to defeat Brentford at their home ground since the beginning of the year, but Brentford’s home draws with Tottenham Hotspur, Bournemouth, and Crystal Palace represented a mediocre start to another top-flight season for the Bees, who are currently ranked 13th with just one win to their name.
Jensen’s consolation at least allowed Brentford to extend their goal scoring streak at the Gtech to 14 games since losing 1-0 to West Ham United in an FA Cup match in January. However, a huge killing was almost on the cards at Rodney Parade last month, only for Brentford to shock Newport from the penalty spot.
After losing to Gillingham in the third round last year on penalties, despite having previously advanced to the EFL Cup quarterfinals in 2022 and participated in a historic semi-final in 2021 in which they were defeated by Tottenham Hotspur, Frank’s team overcame a big psychological hurdle thanks to the 12-yard victory.
Following a thrilling 2-2 draw with Tottenham Hotspur in the North London derby at the Emirates, which saw the Spurs come from behind twice to claim a share of the spoils, Brentford is looking to continue their recent run of demoralising cup losses against its London rivals. Arsenal also has a point to prove.
On more than one occasion, Cristian Romero was the villain in his own area, diverting a Bukayo Saka shot into his own net and then giving up a penalty for the Englishman to smash home down the centre. On both instances, Son Heung-min was set up by James Maddison to bring the Gunners back, though.
Ange Postecoglou has already accomplished a feat that neither Nuno Espirito Santo, Jose Mourinho, nor Antonio Conte were able to do by bringing a point back from their arch-rivals’ home field, while Mikel Arteta was left to lament the untimely injuries to key players and an individual mistake from Jorginho that led to Tottenham’s second goal.
Although there was a noticeable sense of disappointment, the Gunners’ unblemished record this season is still standing. However, the recent EFL Cup final saw Brighton & Hove Albion defeat the two-time winners after they fell at the first hurdle.
In their most recent matchup with Brentford, Arteta’s team was also forced to settle for a point after a contentious 1-1 draw at the Emirates that saw the Bees’ equaliser incorrectly awarded despite Christian Norgaard being in an offside position. However, in their lone previous EFL Cup encounter, Arsenal triumphed 3-1 in 2018 under Unai Emery.
Also read: Liverpool set to play Leicester City in the 3rd round
