Fabio Vieira marked his full Premier League debut with a stunning goal as Arsenal cruised past Brentford 3-0 in Sunday’s London derby to return to the top of the table.
The 22-year-old came in for the injured Martin Odegaard at the Brentford Community Stadium, and his long-range effort early in the second half capped off an utterly dominant display from Mikel Arteta’s side.
William Saliba and Gabriel Jesus had both headed Arsenal in front in the first half before Vieira’s first goal for the club, as the North London club quickly returned to the summit above Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur.
Despite the absences of Odegaard, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Emile Smith Rowe, Arsenal exploded out of the blocks on Sunday lunchtime after both sides impeccably observed a minute’s silence to the late Queen Elizabeth II.
It took just 17 minutes for the Premier League leaders to make their dominance count, as Saliba drifted to the near post to meet Bukayo Saka’s corner and headed home his second Arsenal goal.
Brentford goalkeeper David Raya tried to palm the ball to safety after it had struck the inside of the post, but referee David Coote took a quick glance at his watch and awarded the goal to the Gunners.
Brentford had briefly threatened in and around the penalty area before Saliba’s header, but the Frenchman’s opener sucked the life out of the Bees as Arsenal comfortably retained possession of the ball.
By the 28-minute mark, the Guners had the ball in the back of the net again, as midfield enforcer Granit Xhaka picked out Jesus inside the box for the Brazil international to direct a header beyond Raya’s reach into the top corner.
The home faithful at the Brentford Community Stadium were silenced as Arsenal refused to allow their side a sniff at the end of the first half, with Thomas Frank’s switch to a three-man backline not paying dividends.
Arsenal did not rest on their laurels at the start of the second period, and Vieira – who had been relatively quiet in the first 45 – picked up the ball a good 25 yards from goal with 49 minutes on the clock.
The ex-Porto starlet took one touch before unleashing a fierce left-footed strike towards Raya’s goal, and the Spaniard was powerless to stop Vieira’s effort from crashing into the back of the net off the post.
