TWO second-half goals for Arsenal were enough to beat the Bees who did grab a late consolation goal from Christian Norgaard.
It was shaping up to be a frustrating afternoon for the hosts, who had seen the majority of their top-four rivals drop points since they were last in action.
They had 16 shots in a dominant first half, albeit only registering two efforts on target, with Saka poking wide when well-placed.
Alexandre Lacazette thought he had broken the deadlock but his effort was ruled out by a narrow offside call.
Brentford, again without top-scorer Ivan Toney and new recruit Christian Eriksen, created very few chances in a half where they seemed focused on keeping Arsenal at bay.
That game plan fell by the wayside just three minutes after the interval as Smith Rowe skipped inside two defenders and saw his low shot beat David Raya in the Brentford goal.
Even after falling behind, the visitors struggled to really muster up the opportunities to threaten the Arsenal lead.
Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa were feeding on scraps up front and it was no surprise when the home side doubled their lead.
The points at the Emirates Stadium were wrapped up for the Gunners as Bukayo Saka finished off the inside of the post.
The Bees did pull one goal back right at the death as Christian Norgaard scrambled home, his goal awarded as VAR overruled an offside flag as Arsenal secured a 2-1 win.
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