In the end Bukayo Saka, who started on the bench, made sure of the win in the 91st minute as the Gunners are now 18 games unbeaten in all competitions. With the win Arsenal move on to 33 points, while Brentford stay on 19.

Pundits on BBC Radio 5 Live's Football Daily podcast have reacted to Arsenal's latest win that stretches their lead to five points at the top of the Premier League. Former England captain Steph Houghton said: "It's just routine at the moment for Arsenal.

With around 20 minutes to play, Merino ought to have doubled his personal tally for the night and Arsenal’s lead. When Kelleher parried a low strike from Declan Rice, the rebound fell for Merino, only for him to stumble as he stretched for the loose ball and knock it out of play.

English Premier League leader Arsenal is back at Emirates Stadium on Wednesday to kick off a big day of league action with a match against 12th-place Brentford.

Phoenix: A much-needed win to extend our lead at the top. At one point after the first goal, it seemed the team had given up or were still struggling with the demands of the game against Chelsea, thank goodness the second goal came. Villa Park, Arsenal are coming!

Preview the matchup between Arsenal FC and Brentford FC with predictions, odds, over/under, betting lines and more.

One of Mikel Arteta's most-reliable players of the past few seasons has waited patiently for a chance to perform in the Premier League

Mikel Merino and Bukayo Saka score as Arsenal beat Brentford to restore their five point lead at the top of the Premier League table.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta opted to drop influential trio Bukayo Saka, Eberechi Eze and Jurriën Timber to the bench for Wednesday night’s Premier League clash

For live updates and highlights throughout Aston Villa vs Arsenal check out PST's live blog coverage below. How to watch Aston Villa vs Arsenal live, stream link and start time. K