Arsenal 3 Brentford 1: Danny Welbeck brace sends Gunners through to EFL Cup fourth round

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James Benge26 September 2018

Arsenal overcame a spirited second half fightback from Brentford to book their place in the EFL Cup fourth round with a 3-1 win at the Emirates Stadium.

A first-half brace from Danny Welbeck seemed to have put Arsenal on course for a commanding victory over Championship opponents but, attacking their 9,000 travelling fans in the second half, the Bees battled back, halving the deficit through Alan Judge’s brilliant free-kick just before the hour.

Unai Emery’s side briefly wobbled but the introduction of anchorman Lucas Torreira helped ease the pressure on Arsenal’s at times fragile backline before substitute Alexandre Lacazette secured the victory in added time.

Arsenal did not have to wait long to break the deadlock, Welbeck guiding a header past Luke Daniels with just four minutes on the clock.

It could have been two just moments later as a raking ball forward from Elneny was collected by Smith Rowe, who burst through on goal only to see his shot blocked by the recovering Jeanvier.

Arsenal could not build on their lead and their Sky Bet Championship visitors began to grow in confidence, Watkins earning a corner after two mistakes from Shkodran Mustafi allowed him to run at the defence.

But as their belief started to grow, so Brentford were soon hit by the sucker punch of a second Welbeck goal.

In Pictures | EFL Cup third round

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Henrikh Mkhitaryan lead an attack which saw Iwobi feed Nacho Monreal, whose loose cross was turned home by the England international.

Iwobi fired over the bar at the start of the second half as Emery's side looked to kill off the contest, with the Bees threatening occasionally as Sergi Canos shot just wide.

Brentford were finely rewarded for their exerted efforts as Judge whipped in a superb free-kick on the hour mark to half the arrears.

Canos came close again moments later, rousing the travelling support as they searched what had seemed an improbable equaliser.

Judge then forced a save out of Leno as Emery introduced Lacazette for Smith Rowe in an attempt to sew up the tie.

At the other end, Daniels did well to keep out a close-range Monreal effort as Brentford's push for an equaliser started to wilt.

Lacazette exchanged passes with fellow substitute Aaron Ramsey before firing wide before Yoann Barbet was left calling for a last-minute penalty for Brentford after a coming together with Lucas Torreira - but referee Mike Dean was unmoved.

Arsenal wrapped the tie up in stoppage time as Lacazette finished with aplomb, with Arsenal extending their winning run in all competitions to six games in the process.

Additional reporting by the Press Association.

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