"Havertz for Ballon d'Or", "Aaron Ramsdale you lucky boy" - Fans react as Kai Havertz scores late winner for Arsenal against Brentford

Fans reacted to Kai Havertz's late winner as Arsenal beat Brentford 2-1 at home on Saturday (March 9) to go atop the Premier League.

Declan Rice opened the scoring for the Gunners inside 19 minutes at the Emirates before goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale - making a rare start - gifted the equaliser to Yoane Wissa after delaying a clearance on the cusp of half-time.

The Englishman - playing for the first time in two months - only featured because the on-loan David Raya was ineligible to play against his parent club. However, Havertz came to the rescue of his teammate - who redeemed himself with two key saves - four minutes from time, converting a Ben White cross.

Following his fourth straight league goal in as many outings, fans reckon the German could be a Ballon d'Or nominee, with one tweeting:

"Havertz for Ballon d'Or"

Another chimed in, taking a dig at Ramsdale for his lack of recent game time:

"Aaron Ramsdale, you lucky boy. That's why Arteta doesn't play you. Don't try that again."

Here are some of the top reactions on X:

The win - the Gunners' eighth on the trot in the league - sees them atop the standings for the first time since December. Mikel Arteta's side will stay there if Liverpool and Manchester City share the spoils in their top-of-the-table clash at Anfield on Sunday (March 10).

Arsenal are the fourth side to win their first eight league games in a year. The three others - Manchester United (2009), Liverpool (2020) and Manchester City (2021) - went all the way, which augurs well for the Gunners' title hopes.

---

"Massive win" - Arsenal match-winner Kai Havertz

Kai Havertz is on a roll.

Kai Havertz is riding a purple patch following a difficult start to life at Arsenal after a summer move from Chelsea.

The German scored for the fourth straight league game to send his team top of the pile. Earlier, Havertz had scored in the 5-0 win at Burnley, 4-1 victory at home to Newcastle United, 6-0 vanquish at Sheffield United and now against Brentford.

The 24-year - who has nine goals and three assists in 38 games across competitions this season - told Sky Sports (via BBC) that the three points on the night are invaluable.

"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. It's always nice to have three points in the bag."

Arsenal next take on FC Porto at home on Tuesday (March 12) as they seek to overturn a 1-0 deficit in their UEFA Champions League Round of 16 tie.