Arsenal 2-0 West Brom – Carling Cup – Match Report

Arsenal kicked off their Carling Cup campaign this evening with a third round clash against Championship leaders West Brom. In front of a bouncing crowd at the new ‘Arsenalised’ Emirates, the fans, who only paid £10 each to get in, created a welcoming red blaze for Wenger’s young Gunners.

In terms of team news, Wenger handed starts to two players who appeared to be on their way out of the club this summer in the form of Kerrea Gilbert and Philippe Senderos. The Swiss powerhouse was joined by another experienced centre back – Mikaël Silvestre. Between the sticks Wojciech Szczęsny was handed the gloves and a chance to impress while James Shea made the bench. Carlos Vela and Nacer Barazite were other notable subs.

Szczęsny
Gilbert – Senderos – Silvestre – Gibbs
Wilshere – Coquelin – Ramsey
Sunu – Watt – Traore

Subs: Shea – Bartley – Eastmond – Randall – Frimpong – Barazite – Vela

Match Report – Arsenal 2-0 West Brom

The Albion kicked things off with the Emirates rocking. Early touches from Francis Coquelin, Gilles Sunu and Sanchez Watt calmed the nerves of the trio who were making their first competitive starts for the club. Two early corners were won and on both Senderos came close to breaking the deadlock with towering headers.

Jack Wilshere’s first touch had the crowd on their feet but the scrappy midfield battle soon saw him cut out in his flow. West Brom then had five minutes of possession but failed to break down Arsenal who formed a solid midfield three. That said, a rare attack on the goal saw Szczęsny get his first touch – a marvelous punch to clear the danger after Graham Dorrans’ cross.

Wilshere soon had another touch and was fouled but Sunu grabbed the ball and raced forward, eventually crossing and winning a corner. The delivery was poor but Arsenal were pushing hard. Up the other end, a ball over the head of Gilbert set Filipe Teixeria away and only a poor finish stopped a shot at the Polish goalkeeper.

Sanchez Watt created the best chance in the early stages after racing away, but he fell over before shooting, only for Wilshere to slam an effort of the post. But then West Brom exploded into life.

Dorrans and Cox both had Szczęsny making key saves before the Pole had to rely on Gilbert to clear off the line from Cox. It was a moment where the character of the side was really tested. Wilshere and Ramsey were struggling for touches and subsequently Arsenal were failing to create much.

Eventually Jack and Sanchez Watt did get some touches and the pair played a tidy 1-2 before the former worked Dean Kiely with a powerful drive. Leon Barnett then nearly scored after Szczęsny came and flapped at another corner but this time Kieran Gibbs was able to clear.

Former Arsenal winger Jerome Thomas lost the ball to Wilshere and after tackling to win it back, Thomas shared words with Jack before appearing to slap the 17-year-old. He received a straight red card and West Brom had 6 minutes to organise before the break.

The half finished with an Aaron Ramsey free-kick which ended up in the stands – a disappointing finish after such an exciting build up – much like Arsenal’s first half performance.

Half Time – Arsenal 0-0 West Brom

Arsenal got the second period underway and Wenger signalled his charges didn’t have long to make an impact. Carlos Vela and Nacer Barazite were summoned to go and warm up and they were joined by Mark Randall a minute later. Would the trio be needed? it appeared so.

With 10 minutes gone of the second half neither side looked like producing a winner. Wenger then turned to his bench and selected Mark Randall and Carlos Vela in place of Francis Coquelin and Gilles Sunu. The changes had an almost instant impact as Vela gathered Randall’s ball and raced towards the Baggies goal, but Olssen recovered to tackle back.

After pressure from West Brom, Arsenal finally got their goal. A superb turn from Vela bought him enough space to lash a shot, it was saved and Sanchez Watt was on hand to slam home the rebound. It was a superb bit of class from the Mexican to make the chance.

Goal – Sanchez Watt – (68)

Nacer Barazite replaced Armand Traore and Arsenal now had a fearsome front three. Vela nutmegged Barnett and the fans were roaring with delight at his influence. If he would have managed to pick out Barazite, his Dutch strike partner would have been 1-1 with Kiely. A second goal looked imminent.

Vela was looking incredibly sharp. The young forward may be right down the pecking order at the moment but his class was shining through. Mark Randall should have made it 2-0 with a super chip over Kiely, it smashed the bar, and after Barnett failed to clear, Vela stole in, rounded him and slid home. Terrible defending but Arsenal take full advantage.

Goal – Carlos Vela – (78)

It killed the game but the fans demanded exhibition football to finish off sorry Albion. Sub Chris Wood could have pulled one back but he volleyed wide and Szczesny kept his clean sheet. An attendance of 56,592 was simply incredible for such an evening. Shouts of ‘ole!’ as the Gunner pinged it around saw West Brom not just beaten, but humiliated in terms of talent.

Arsenal rock on into round four.

Article By – J.Sanderson