Two of Arsenal’s most promising talents, Ethan Mwaneri and Bukayo Saka helped them move to the quarter final round of this season’s Carabao Cup with both men finding the back of the net to secure a 2-0 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion at the Emirates Stadium. Prior to the start of the game, history was made on the night as Max Dowman, 15 years and 302 days old was named as Arsenal’s youngest ever player to start a competitive match. Another player, a fellow academy product joined Dowman in the attack, Adre Harriman-Annous making him Arsenal’s 924th player.
Match Overview
The game started with intense pressure from both ends with Mikel Merino’s men trying to gain control of the flow of the game but the first half soon ended with Nwaneri finding the opener in the 56th minute to raise the tempo of the game.
Goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga was tested twice in the opening 10 minutes of play with the first being a comfortable denial of Carlos Baleba’s effort at goal before stopping Georginio Rutter’s attempt in a one-on-one situation.
Despite these early attacks, Arsenal still found their way into the game with Dowman interacting with more balls and causing a lot of problems for the opposition Maxim De Cuyper in the first half.
Ethan’s breakthrough came when Merino’s sensational back heel fell into the hands of Myles Lewis-Skelly who found space down the left wing and was able to cut back to Nwaneri who shot low past Steele.
The Gunners made several efforts at a double but were successfully kept at bay by the visitors who were greatly in search for a way back into the game. However, the hosts got their second of the night through Bukayo Saka who got on the remains of lung-busting run by Jurrien Timber to fire past Steele, sealing the victory of Arsenal’s 250th matchin the competition.
What’s Next?
This result sees Arsenal through to the last eight making it the second season in a row that they have reached this level of the competition. However, following this win, they will head on to Turf Moore to face Burnley in the Premier League on Saturday, November 1. They will then turn their attention to Slavia Prague on Tuesday for their fourth game of the league phase of the Champions League.
#Arsenal #Brighton&HoveAlbion #CarabaoCup #EmiratesStadium
