Young Guns send Arsenal through

West Brom 1-1 Arsenal

Penalties   (3-4)

 

 

Arsene Wenger opted for a blend of youth and experience for last night’s Capital One Cup tie against West Brom as the Gunners progressed to the next round after holding their nerve in a penalty shootout. The manager selected the likes of Vermaelen, Mertesacker, Monreal and Jenkinson in defence, while Bendtner made his first Arsenal appearance for two years, with youngsters Gnabry, Miyaichi, Eisfeld and Hayden in midfield, alongside the returning Mikel Arteta.

Before the game, the major focus was on Niklas Bendtner, with Arsenal fans intrigued as to how the Danish striker would apply himself, following Wenger’s comments regarding a new found humility and change of attitude from the man who with one year left on his contract, has much to prove at the Emirates.

Unfortunately, with the midfield players behind him struggling to get into the game, Bendtner was denied the consistent quality service that a man playing the lone role up front requires to affect the game. Playing up against the experienced David Lugano did not help his cause either, as the Uruguayan refused to be outmuscled by the big Dane and was able to win the majority of the aerial challenges against Bendtner. On the few occasions the Arsenal striker was able to get his head to the ball and flick it on, the support from the midfield was not forthcoming as the likes of Gnabry, Eisfeld and Miayiachi were far too timid and slow to make forward runs in an attempt to get on the end of any flick ons. As a result, Bendtner became a rather isolated figure up front and Arsenal were not able to carry an attacking threat throughout the game.

However Bendtner must be applauded for his attitude last night. Although he struggled at times to get himself on the ball, he did not hide away or show frustration and continued to make himself available for his team mates, trying to link the play as best he could. On one of the few occasions the Danish striker was able to bring the ball down and turn towards goal, he slid a perfectly weighted through ball into the path of Thomas Eisfeld, for the young German to apply a composed finish, sending the goalkeeper the wrong way to give Arsenal the lead.

In addition, despite this being his first game in a long while, Bendtner was also full of running right throughout the entire 120 minutes and in fact, after the Gunners had been pegged back in the 71^st minute by a Berahino header, Bendtner should have given Arsenal the lead once again during the first period of extra time. As the Gunners attempted to hit West Brom on the counter attack, Serge Gnabry laid the ball into the path of the big Dane, but unfortunately Bendtner thought he had more time. Had he realised Dawson was right behind him, the Arsenal striker would have cut across him, effectively taking the West Brom defender out of the game, preventing Dawson from being able to make an excellent last ditch tackle to deny Bendtner a goal scoring return to the Gunners fold.

With the two sides unable to be separated after 120 minutes, Bendtner still had some work to do in the penalty shootout, stepping up to take the Gunners first penalty. Arsene Wenger mentioned after the game that the Denmark international has never been short of confidence and he looked the epitome of cool, calm and collected as he nonchalantly strode towards the ball and sent the goalkeeper the wrong way. All in all, considering this was his first game in an Arsenal shirt for two years, Bendtner’s performance was rather encouraging, hopefully he will continue to build on this and become a player upon whom the Gunners can rely on during the months ahead.

Arsenal’s youngsters on the night must also be applauded for their courage and determination to continue to fight for the cause. At times, West Brom appeared to be gaining the upper hand and the Gunners had to rely on three excellent saves from Lukas Fabianski, as well as a goal line clearance from Per Mertesacker deep into extra time to see them through to the penalty shootout.  However, the youngsters did not shirk their responsibilities and although things did not always go their way and their legs tired towards the end, they continued to put in 100% effort. Chuba Akpom in particular played extremely well, having come on towards the end of normal time. The 17 year old belied his age, with his searing pace and strength causing the West Brom defence great problems as they struggled to contain the young man, who clearly has all the talent and technical ability to go all the way. Special mention must also go to Gnabry, Eisfeld, Kristofer Olsson and Akpom again who all had the nerve to step up and take a penalty, the last three all successfully converting their attempts to see Arsenal through to the next round and a home tie against Chelsea.

Although this was not the most impressive performance from an Arsenal perspective, Wenger must surely take great pride in the never-say-die ethos around the club at the moment, which has its roots in the away win against Bayern Munich last season. This Gunners squad just never know when they are beaten and simply refuse to give in, regardless of the circumstances. If Wenger can harness this collective spirit, this Arsenal side can go really far this season.