Emirates Stadium, London—An unconvincing Arsenal advanced into the Carabao Cup quarterfinals with a 2–0 victory at home to Brighton & Hove Albion on Wednesday evening.
If Mikel Arteta needed any evidence to support his inherently cautious approach to most Arsenal matches, a harum-scarum performance provided a perfect case study. On another night, this much-changed lineup could have been the team picking the ball out of their net on multiple occasions.
In the act of releasing the handbrake—intentionally or, more likely, as a consequence of the sweeping personnel changes—Arsenal had to rely upon an excellent performance from goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga.
Two well-crafted goals from Ethan Nwaneri and Bukayo Saka rewarded the hosts’ more fluent approach in possession, but this is unlikely to be a blueprint for more Arsenal performances going forward.
Arsenal Player Ratings vs. Brighton (4-3-3)
GK: Kepa Arrizabalaga—8.3: Superb throughout. Kept Arsenal in the tie in the first 10 minutes with a pair of smothering saves and was required throughout.
RB: Ben White—7.4: Plenty of enthusiasm if not much finesse to White’s numerous forward thrusts.
CB: Cristhian Mosquera—7.3: Thrived amid the chaos as Arsenal’s backline was given far more to do than their normal brief.
CB: Piero Hincapié—7.3: On his full Arsenal debut, the summer loan signing took a more reactive approach, sweeping behind his centre back partner on and off the ball.
LB: Myles Lewis-Skelly—8.0: An incredible embodiment of self-confidence: there is no ball out of Lewis-Skelly’s zone of influence in the teenager’s steely mind.
CM: Ethan Nwaneri—8.0: If anything, the shoddy nature of Nwaneri’s first 45 minutes made his second-half display all the more impressive. Many 18-year-olds would have stopped asking for the ball with a Brighton player draped across their back, yet Nwaneri kept on coming, demanding possession which he eventually made the most of.
CM: Christian Nørgaard—7.4: Anchoring Arsenal’s midfield in Martín Zubimendi’s absence, the former Brentford skipper’s game was a neat web of short, knitted passes that kept the contest ticking over.
CM: Mikel Merino—7.0: Wholeheartedly embraced his role of captain for the night, charging around the pitch with an added sense of vigour.
RW: Max Dowman—7.2: The brief for Arsenal’s youngest ever starter was simple: run. Every time the 15-year-old got the ball he darted at, and invariably around, Maxim De Cuyper in a performance that was the epitome of youthful exuberance.
ST: Andre Harriman-Annous—6.7: The 17-year-old debutant looked just like one. Lacking the physical heft of his cousin, England rugby captain Maro Itoje, Harriman-Annous dutifully hassled and harried, almost getting his goal before Saka pounced.
LW: Eberechi Eze—6.7: After being booed throughout the match by Brighton’s travelling support, the former Eagle must have had a wry smile as the away fans were explicitly likened to an inferior version of Crystal Palace. There wasn’t much to satisfy Eze based on his individual performance.
Subs not used: David Raya (GK), Riccardo Calafiori, Martín Zubimendi, Viktor Gyökeres.
Brighton (3-4-2-1)
Starting XI: Jason Steele; Diego Coppola, Jan Paul van Hecke, Olivier Boscagli; Ferdi Kadioglu, Carlos Baleba, Diego Gómez, Maxim De Cuyper; Georginio Rutter, Charalampos Kostoulas; Stefanos Tzimas.
Subs used: Yasin Ayari, Mats Wieffer, Yankuba Minteh, Tom Watson, Danny Welbeck.
Player of the Match: Kepa Arrizabalaga (Arsenal)
Arsenal 2–0 Brighton—How It Unfolded at the Emirates
There was a fittingly childish energy to Wednesday’s cup tie, which was lodged right in the middle a week-long school holiday for English schoolchildren. Arteta named a pair of minors in his starting XI which included four teenagers, Myles Lewis-Skelly a veritable veteran at 19.
Eberechi Eze was the only survivor from the lineup against Crystal Palace three days earlier. The entirely new-look backline was not only younger but rapidly proved to be more porous. Brighton could quite easily have scored twice inside the opening 10 minutes, with Georginio Rutter and Stefanos Tzimas both panicking when presented with one-on-ones at the sharp end of two quick counterattacks.
Brighton made several changes of their own—half of the outfielders who lost 4–2 to Manchester United on Saturday were swapped out—while Fabian Hürzeler’s tactical tweak added to the cloud of confusion. The Seagulls’ 3-4-2-1 not only ensured that at least one wing back was always spare when pushing onto Arsenal’s back four, but the inside forwards of Rutter and Charalampos Kostoulas tucked in to form a box midfield which swamped the hosts’ central trio.
The visitors had much the better of the opening 45 minutes and started the second half just as brightly. Nwaneri’s crisp opener was just Arsenal’s second shot on target of the match.
For a team that has so consistently struggled to break open matches from anything other than a set piece, it was a refreshingly fluid team move which teased Brighton apart. Mikel Merino’s impish back-heel slipped Lewis-Skelly into the penalty box, paving the way for one teenager to tee up the other as Nwaneri swept a deft layoff into the bottom corner.
The nervy moments at the back would persist—Piero Hincapié had to make a desperate block after Cristhian Mosquera caught the bug of cheap concessions of possession—before Saka nabbed a settling second. Debutant Andre Harriman-Annous so nearly extended the youthful list of scorers but, having been played through on goal by a defence-splitting stroke of the ball by Jurriën Timber, couldn’t steer his effort past Jason Steele. Saka was on hand to tuck in the rebound.
Brighton outshot Arsenal on the night, forcing Kepa into six saves. First-choice keeper David Raya has faced just five shots since September. It wasn’t entirely convincing, but Arteta can at least take solace from his side’s spot in the quarterfinals.
Arsenal vs. Brighton Half-Time Stats
Arsenal vs. Brighton Full Time Stats
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Arsenal Player Ratings vs. Brighton: Vindication for Arteta in Unconvincing Cup Tie.