Thomas Frank: 'It was a clear dive and red card for Havertz'

A late Kai Havertz header at the Emirates saw the Gunners beat Brentford 2-1 and top the table before tomorrow's mouthwatering clash between Liverpool and Manchester City at Anfield.

It was far from plain sailing for The North Londoners as a first half stoppage time howler from Aaron Ramsdale allowed Brentford back into the game going into the second half after Declan Rice had put Arsenal ahead after 19 minutes.

Havertz headed past Mark Flekken on 86 minutes to give Arsenal the win, their eighth on the bounce, but Thomas Frank was far from happy post-game claiming Havertz should have been sent off earlier in the game for diving.

Speaking to Sky Sports after the game Frank said: "The performance was spot on. Even more impressive if you take into account Arsenal's form, our form, our injury situation. I actually don't think Havertz should be on the pitch when he scored. It was a clear dive. Maybe it is difficult for the ref but the linesman should have seen it.

"We are in that spell where we need to fight so hard for things. You need things to go your way, especially things you can't control like refereeing decisions."

He added later "Havertz is a clear, clear dive. That should of course been a second yellow and a red card and then he wouldn't have been able to score the winner."

Frank was full of praise for his sides performance though, even going as far as to call it a 'defensive masterclass'.

"I'm so proud of the team and the players. We've come here to Arsenal who have scored 100 goals in I don't know how many games and we limited them. It was almost a defensive masterclass."