No Dow-ubt About it Against Brighton

Cup competitions are a hard one to navigate for Arsenal. They haven't won enough trophies over the years to not take every single one seriously and the EFL Cup (Carabao Cup) is no different in my eyes. The smallest of the four accolades, but a trophy in every sense of the word. It's also the first one you can win and getting that winning feeling in March could do wonders for the latter stages of our campaign. The lack of trophies is the blotch on Arteta's resume that he'd really like to start removing and that can start with the EFL Cup.

Arsenal heavily rotated for this fixture, leaving just one player that started against Crystal Palace in the team. But, this rather flexed the work that Andrea Berta did behind the scenes. His recruitment drive to add depth has been instrumental in stabilising our season due to the sheer volume of injuries we've had since the start of the campaign. However, Arsenal started the game like there was 11 men on the pitch that had never played together. The mix of youth and rotational squad members found it hard to gel early on and Brighton were carving through us as a result. Georginio Rutter and Stefanos Tzimas came the closest to putting the Seagulls ahead, but Kepa Arrizabalaga was equal to Rutter's one-on-one chance and then rather put off Tzimas for his effort. But, Brighton kept testing Kepa and favoured getting off shots as early as they could, even from range. Our Spaniard denied Carlos Baleba and Rutter from range, while also making sure Diego Gomez's attempt glided past the post. Arsenal didn't really have much of a response as Brighton were quite comfortable soaking up our pressure. Jan Paul van Hecke provided the final scare for Arsenal as his close range header glanced wide. Arteta's men needed something different in the second half, but our manager persevered with the team that started the match.

It was a good thing he did as the 2nd half was much more vintage Arsenal. Brighton had the first real attempt on goal, but again Kepa was more than equal to it. It took until the 57th minute for Arsenal to break the deadlock. A silky move that involved a back heel pass from Mikel Merino to find Myles Lewis-Skelly who then slipped the ball to Ethan Nwaneri who just about beat the keeper with his shot into the bottom corner. Fabian Hurzeler would certainly feel like that was against the run of play, but Arsenal won't care. Both teams would keep up with the chances, though the North London side would feel like they were having the better of the chances in the 2nd half. A few blocked attempts from Eze, Bukayo Saka and Nwaneri paved the way for an excellent chance for Merino who couldn't provide the finishing touch. But, it wouldn't be long before Arsenal grabbed the second goal of the game. A brilliant, solo run from Jurrien Timber turned simple possession into a goal scoring chance. He found the run of Andre Harriman-Annous, his shot didn't quite squeeze under the Brighton keeper, but Saka was on hand to smash home the rebound. 2-0 and Arsenal entered cruise control. Brighton went searching for a goal back, but couldn't break down the Arsenal defence again. In fact it was Arsenal that came closest to scoring the third as Leandro Trossard smacked a shot off the post in stoppage time. That was it for this fixture.

Player Ratings:

Kepa - 9 (MOTM) - The Spaniard showed the importance of having a competent back up goalie. He was equal to everything Brighton threw at him and actually kept us in the game all things considered. An excellent stand in for David Raya.

White - 7 - That was more like it from White. Having to form a partnership with a young winger was always going to be tough, but there was a little connection between him and Max Dowman that was quite intriguing. Solid defensively and we got to see some of his classic overlapping runs.

Mosquera - 8 - I could've put him higher, but he did almost cost us a goal. However, he's still young and he's allowed to make mistakes, especially when he spent most of the game saving the team from their's. He formed an excellent partnership with Piero Hincapie that blossomed as the game went on. If William Saliba is to be out for however long, Mosquera is a more than an adequate replacement.

Hincapie - 9 - Early mistake aside, he was brilliant. It seems like he thrives on duelling his opponents and has a similar gene to Gabriel in that sense. Extremely quick to close down opponents and intelligent to spot developing situations. Gabriel is one of the first names on the team sheet, but Hincapie will be biting at his heels.

Lewis-Skelly - 8 - This rating is purely for his second half, it would've been higher had he been better in the first half. The opening 45 minutes were tough for Lewis-Skelly as he was overpowered by Rutter on a few occasions. However, he was a different player in the second half and provided the assist for Nwaneri.

Norgaard - 7 - I think it can be said for almost all of the starting XI that they improved as the game went on. Norgaard felt loose in possession and it seemed like Brighton targeted that. Merino partnering him felt like a problem as the two aren't quite dynamic enough. However, I can see signs of a player that can deputise Martin Zubimendi when we need him to.

Merino - 7 - I didn't like the pivot of Norgaard and Merino, but they got through the game and had moments where they linked up nicely. Merino tried his best to add the experience in the team and be the wise old head, but was getting the run around by Brighton's midfield. However, he did provide an excellent back heel to set up Lewis-Skelly for his assist for Nwaneri.

Nwaneri - 7 - This was the perfect game for Nwaneri to really put a statement performance out there. In some ways I think he did that, when the game is going against you and you can still provide a goal then you have something worth giving. Passes were misplaced, sometimes held the ball for too long, tackled in unfortunate areas of the pitch. It was a performance he'd be frustrated with, but ultimately I think Arteta would've been happy.

Dowman - 8 - 15 years old. I don't think I'll ever grasp how good you have to be at football to be starting for a professional men's team at that age and be good as well. He didn't look out of place at all and regularly made a fool of his opponent. I also liked how he worked for his team as well, not as much of a pressing force as Saka, but that's expected.

Eze - 7 - I'd describe his performance as professional, but also mindful that he's had a busy few weeks and was managing his fitness levels. Eze is the kind of player that prefers to work in the shadows, you don't notice him until he explodes with a goal, assist or a mesmerising piece of play. For the Brighton game he was more concerned with sustaining an attacking threat rather than be a focal point. It was a fine performance, nothing more.

Harriman-Annous - 8 - As much as having Dowman starting shocked me, Arteta was brave to put Annous in the starting XI. Only a handful of minutes in the first team away on pre-season, but certainly made a good case for his future potential. When he got on the ball he was impressive, but his off ball work was excellent too. I'd say as a squad they didn't give him the service he deserved, it took right up until the 75th minute before he was granted a suitable chance. Almost tucked it away, but the keeper was equal to it.

Substitutes:

Gabriel - 7 - He's a force to be reckoned with no matter when he's introduced into the game. He carried on the defensive solidity provided by Hincapie, but was always alert to attacking moves further up the pitch.

Timber - 8 - I think he was on par with White in terms of defensive contributions, but that solo run to kick start the events that led to the second goal cannot be forgotten about. A timely reminder as to why he's considered one of the best in the league.

Saka - 8 - He showed his class with the goal and did what he had to do in attack, I'd actually say that Dowman was more of nightmare to defend against, but Saka got the all important goal.

Rice - 7 - He kept the midfield ticking over and helped to close out the game.

Trossard - 7 - He's always up to something, sometimes good, sometimes bad. But, you can't fault the work he puts in. So close to grabbing a goal for himself, denied by the post.

That's it for the player ratings and on to the next one. I liked Arteta's bravery to put out such a rotated side that included some exciting young talents. It gave our starting squad a breather, but also gave some fringe players some minutes in the tank to keep them fresh. It's so important this season to keep everyone going as at any moment you could be called upon. We've played 14 games so far since mid August and that includes two international breaks which most of the squad have been participating in, so for a few they're reaching 20 appearances already. Burnley up next, away which will be trickier than people think, they've won their last two games which will give them confidence. Here's how I'd line up assuming that Saliba and Gabriel Martinelli are unavailable.

What we'd expect our team to be, strongest players available. We have Slavia Prague midweek, but if that second string team can beat Brighton then they should have Slavia Prague in the bag.