Arsenal progressed into round four of the Carabao Cup with a 1-0 win at Brentford on Wednesday.
Arsenal took the lead with eight minutes on the clock. Zanka mis-hit a pass back to Ethan Pinnock, who was beaten to the ball by Eddie Nketiah and he selflessly squared for Reiss Nelson to finish from 12 yards.
Midway though the first half, Takehiro Tomiyasu made a heroic block to deny Vitaly Janelt after the ball fell to the German following a well-worked throw-in routine.
The visitors went close to doubling their advantage on the half-hour mark when Emile Smith Rowe wriggled his way past several pairs of trailing Brentford legs, only to be denied by Mark Flekken at his near post.
Brentford should have been level when Christian Norgaard danced past Arsenal bodies in similar fashion, teeing up Yoane Wissa with a wonderful curved pass through the Gunners’ backline, but the striker’s first-time shot sailed well wide.
The hosts cranked up the pressure after the break and struck the post through Wissa, with Ramsdale getting a the faintest of touches on his strike from the edge of the box.
A quick breakaway saw Nelson nearly secure a brace, meeting Kai Havertz’s low cross but stroking it narrowly wide.
Ramsdale then kept Arsenal in front with a low punch to push away a half-volley from Frank Onyeka. Tomiyasu made another key block to deny Saman Ghoddos from the resulting throw-in before Zanka had the ball in the net, though the flag had been raised for offside.
With under ten minutes remaining, Jakub Kiwior retreated superbly to block Keane Lewis-Potter’s shot off the line. But Brentford were ultimately unable to find an equaliser as Arsenal secured their spot in the next round.
Thomas Frank’s side were unable to find a late equaliser and have now lost three games in a row in all competitions.
