Arsenal forward Kai Havertz has claimed he and his teammates are only focusing on themselves in the Premier League title race.
The Gunners moved to the top of the table with a 2-1 win at home to Brentford on Saturday evening. Declan Rice broke the deadlock before a mistake from Aaron Ramsdale allowed the Bees to go level through Yoane Wissa against the run of play.
Mikel Arteta’s side spent much of the second half battering down the Brentford door and they got their reward late on when Havertz popped up with the winning goal, heading home a cross from Ben White.
The result moves Arsenal one point clear of Liverpool and two ahead of Manchester City, who will meet in a mammoth showdown at Anfield on Sunday.
Speaking to Sky Sports post-match, Havertz revealed Arsenal, who recorded their eighth Premier League win in a row, are trying to concentrate on their own results and not those of their rivals.
“Massive win for us. These points were so important for us and you could see that in the second half. We didn’t play our best in the first half but it’s even better to win it this way,” Havertz began when talking about Saturday’s victory.
“It’s always nice to have three points in the bag. We talked a lot about this in the dressing room. We want to focus on ourselves because we cannot change what the other teams are doing. We go into the other competition in the week and hopefully it’s a good night for us.”
The complexion of the evening changed when Ramsdale – only restored to the starting lineup as David Raya was not eligible to face his parent club – gifted Brentford their equaliser, but Havertz sought to stand up for the goalkeeper.
“It wasn’t nice especially after conceding so close to the whistle,” Havertz added. “We spoke to each other and wanted to turn it around. Mistakes are part of the game. I have made mistakes that lead to goals. We showed a good mentality from the first second of the second half.”
