Arsenal went top of the Premier League with a late 2-1 win at home to Brentford on Saturday.

The Gunners secured an eighth-successive league win to move into first place but they were made to work for the three points at the Emirates Stadium.

The Bees’ goal was rather fortuitous but Thomas Frank’s side battled well and only just about lost a point at the very last.

Arsenal nearly scored directly from a corner in the game’s opening exchanges. Declan Rice’s wicked delivery flew beyond Jakub Kiwior and Kai Havertz towards the back post, where a touch off the knee of Ivan Toney saved Brentford.

Toney had the Bees’ first real chance down the other end when he rose high to meet a corner, but his effort was well held by Aaron Ramsdale. The England goalkeeper – in for the ineligible David Raya – then set Leandro Trossard racing away with a long throw, but he was caught in the nick of time by Mads Roerslev before he could get a shot out of his feet.

With 19 minutes on the clock, Arsenal went in front. Just after the hosts had appeals for a penalty for a shove on Martin Odegaard waved away, Ben White delivered a cross from the right and picked out Rice, who got above Roerslev and headed beyond Mark Flekken.

Arsenal nearly had the ball in the net again when a clever pass between the Brentford backline from Jorginho found Havertz, who somehow bounced his shot wide. The offside flag was raised but replays suggested that decision would have been reversed by VAR if the move ended in a goal.

On the stroke of half-time, Brentford found an equaliser in incredible fashion. Ramsdale took too long dallying on the ball and Yoane Wissa was able to steam in and block his clearance, with the ball bouncing back into the net.

Ramsdale went some way to redeeming himself when he threw up a hand to claw away a speculative half-volley from 35 yards by Ivan Toney just after the break.

Arsenal went close to going ahead again when Gabriel Magalhaes got his head on another corner, only for Vitaly Janelt to clear his corner off the line.

The hosts were furious they weren’t awarded penalties when Roerslev tugged back Leandro Trossard and Havertz fell meekly under a challenge from Nathan Collins as Brentford fended for their lives.

Ramsdale was again called into action when Kristoffer Ajer’s cross met Collins, and the Arsenal goalkeeper tipped the header over the bar.

Rice struck the woodwork with a graceful effort from distance, rattling Flecken’s crossbar after Brentford were only able to clear the first delivery from a corner.

With just under five minutes remaining, the Brentford resistence was broken. Another floated cross from White was this time met by Havertz, whose header was too hot for Flekken to handle and Arsenal secured the points.

GK: Aaron Ramsdale – 3/10 – Came up with some important saves in the second half but his calamitous mistake completely changed the complexion of the evening. What should have been a comfortable day at the office for Arsenal became a slog when they really could have done without it.

RB: Ben White – 9/10 – Arsenal’s best crosser by a country mile on the night. Excellent at both ends once more.

CB: William Saliba – 7/10 – Will be furious to have been denied a clean sheet given how well he did to pin down Toney in dangerous areas.

CB: Gabriel Magalhaes – 7/10 – Booked early for a tug on Wissa but it seldom mattered, standing tall for the most part.

LB: Jakub Kiwior – 6/10 – Defended well enough but didn’t provide enough in the final third when Arsenal needed more quality down the left.

CM: Jorginho – 7/10 – Picked Brentford apart with a series of incisive passes. Hooked for another forward in Jesus late on as Arsenal chased a goal.

CM: Declan Rice – 8/10 – Up to six Premier League goals for the season, his best-ever return. Another driving-force performance in the heart of midfield.

CM: Martin Odegaard – 6/10 – Had joy early on dribbling his way past Brentford bodies but this dried up when the visitors sat deeper.

RW: Bukayo Saka – 6/10 – Flashed some teasing crosses through the Brentford box but scarcely ever to those in Arsenal red.

CF: Kai Havertz – 8/10 – Guilty of an awful miss in the first half before popping up with a crucial winner in Arsenal’s season. Your standard Havertz performance.

LW: Leandro Trossard – 5/10 – Flittered between the lines well early on but Brentford found his menace considerably easier to deal with than that of his teammates.

SUB: Gabriel Jesus (70′ for Jorginho) – 6/10

SUB: Reiss Nelson (79′ for Trossard) – 6/10

SUB: Oleksandr Zinchenko (79′ for Kiwior) – 6/10

SUB: Thomas Partey (90′ for Odegaard) – N/A

Subs not used: Karl Hein (GK), Cedric Soares, Emile Smith Rowe, Fabio Vieira, Eddie Nketiah

Mikel Arteta – 8/10 – Arsenal never wilted or relented despite such a strange setback. Stuff of champions, et cetera.

GK: Mark Flekken – 6/10 – Saved all he could but little he could have done about either header despite getting an arm on the winner.

CB: Zanka – 5/10 – Shown a yellow card for a late challenge on Trossard in the first half and put his body on the line in search of a point. It mattered little in the end.

CB: Kristoffer Ajer – 6/10 – For the most part defended well and was a decent crosser at the other end. Not his night in the end.

CB: Nathan Collins – 6/10 – Similarly good at both ends but the Arsenal pressure proved too much to handle in the end.

RM: Mads Roerslev – 6/10 – Out-jumped by Rice for the opener but that was a duel he would never win. Got away with a tug on Trossard but for the most part locked down Arsenal’s left flank.

CM: Frank Onyeka – 5/10 – Booked after only four minutes for a cynical foul but bit his tongue well after. Brought his usual energy but not much else.

CM: Christian Norgaard – 5/10 – Withdrawn in the first half with a back injury.

CM: Vitaly Janelt – 7/10 – Brentford’s best outfielder that wasn’t involved in a goal. Put in a real shift and knew how to ease the non-stop pressure.

LM: Keane Lewis-Potter – 4/10 – Made a series of poor decisions and it was hard to remember a notable positive moment of him in possession.

CF: Ivan Toney – 6/10 – Had little service to play with and was largely restricted to action outside the box but fed on those scraps pretty well given Brentford’s depleted squad.

CF: Yoane Wissa – 7/10 – From an overhead kick last week to the easiest of goals this week. Scored on his 100th Brentford appearance and led the press well.

SUB: Mathias Jensen (34′ for Norgaard) – 5/10 – Had to cover a lot of ground to make up for Norgaard’s absence.

SUB: Neal Maupay (78′ for Wissa) – 5/10

SUB: Yehor Yarmoliuk (78′ for Onyeka) – 5/10

SUB: Mikkel Damsgaard (90′ for Janelt) – N/A

SUB: Saman Ghoddos (90′ for Zanka) – N/A

Subs not used: Thomas Strakosha (GK), Ji-Soo Kim, Benjamin Arthur, Shandon Baptiste

Thomas Frank – 6/10 – Brentford nearly took a point despite their many injury woes. They just fell short at the last.