Kai Havertz, Declan Rice have Arsenal fans recalling glory days and dreaming of new ones after dramatic win

The Gunners left it late against Brentford to move top of the table

LONDON -- The bad old days, those palpitation-inducing, brain-frying nights when Premier League leaders Arsenal were doing all they could to turn a title challenge into a waking nightmare, are back in north London. For one night only, the Emirates Stadium was transported back to the days of a delirium masquerading as destiny.

That Arsenal were not good enough to win the title, frittering away points by losing their cool against mid-table opposition, leaving it later than a real champion would have in beating bottom-third fodder, allowing themselves to be riled into errors by Southampton, West Ham, and, of course, Brentford.

Now, Arsenal were supposed to be better than this. They had been better this over the last six weeks, the Premier League's best team blowing away the field.