Emile Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka provide magic spark as Arsenal stay strong in top-four battle

When the half-time whistle went during this game with Brentford, you wondered if it was going to be one of those days for Arsenal.

They had been utterly dominant in the first half at Emirates Stadium, finishing with over 70 per cent of the possession and having 16 shots on goal.

They also, however, had nothing to show for it and Brentford had found a way to keep them at bay during the opening 45 minutes.

Arsenal had gone close with a few efforts, had some penalty shouts waved away, and it felt like it was going to take something special to break the deadlock.

Emile Smith Rowe duly stepped up to the plate three minutes into the second half as he marked his return to the starting XI with a lovely goal.

The 21-year-old received the ball out left and, after cutting inside past two defenders, he curled it into the bottom corner.

It was Smith Rowe’s 10th goal of the season, extending his lead as Arsenal’s top scorer, and after the past two months he has had the attacking midfielder will be delighted to be back on the scoresheet.

After a flying start to the season, Smith Rowe was forced to manage a groin issue during December and January, but he looked back to his best here.

The mid-season break in Dubai allowed the youngster to get fully fit and clearly the hard work has paid off.

Truth be told, it was no more than Arsenal deserved and when Bukayo Saka doubled the lead with 11 minutes to go, it was game over.

Smith Rowe’s goal was a good finish, but this was equally impressive as the winger lashed one home off the post.

Arsenal cruised fairly easily to victory from there, with only a late Brentford goal from Christian Norgaard giving them a small scare, and Mikel Arteta will be pleased with these three points.

Teams are stumbling in the race to finish in the Premier League’s top four, however right now Arsenal are staying strong.

It is two wins from as many games since they returned from Dubai and a favourable fixture list going forward means they should look to keep this run going.

If they are to do so then they will need players to step up and share the goals. The departure of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who joined Barcelona for free in January, has left them light on strikers and weapons in attack.

That was evident here, as once again Alexandre Lacazette worked hard but failed to provide the threat you’d want from your No9.

Thankfully for Arsenal their young players rose to the occasion once more, with Saka and Smith Rowe providing the magic spark they needed.

Whether they can keep doing that all the way to May remains to be seen, but right now Arsenal’s dreams of qualifying for the Champions League are alive and well.