Preston 0- 3 Arsenal: Nwaneri stands out … again

Match report – Player ratings – Arteta reaction

Arsenal are through to the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup after a 3-0 win over Preston last night.

As expected, Mikel Arteta named a fairly strong side, with starts for William Saliba, Gabriel Jesus, Jurrien Timber and Mikel Merino, while Ethan Nwaneri got the nod in midfield. More to come on him, but there were positives elsewhere. Not least Gabriel Jesus getting on the scoresheet for the first time since January.

He has been so badly in need of a goal and it came after 24 minutes of Arsenal dominance. Gabriel Martinelli took a free kick from the left, Jakub Kiwior headed it down from the back post, and Jesus didn’t have time to think – finishing really well as the ball dropped down to him. Perhaps that’s just what he needed, no chance to do anything complicated other than put his foot through the ball and leather it into the back of the net. He was also involved in the second goal too, so hopefully it’s a confidence boosting night for him after such a barren spell in the final third.

I don’t think it’s right to say the night was all about Ethan Nwaneri, but it’s fair to say he’s the player who really stood out for Arsenal yesterday. What can you say about a goal of that quality? The finish is sublime, he made it look so simple and effortless when it was anything but, and the precision with which the ball nestled into that top corner was breathtaking.

After his two goals in the last round, last night’s strike made him our third highest goalscorer this season, behind Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka. You could say that says something about how others haven’t been scoring at the rate we might like, but I do think circumstance has played a part in that. Nevertheless, it also tells you something about Nwaneri and what he’s capable of delivering, albeit against lower league opposition so far.

I thought there was so much to like about his performance. The quick feet, the decision making, the way he pops the ball off and keeps moving to give teammates an option. Not to mention an ability to be in the right place at the right time for chances on goal. In the first half he shot over from a good position before he scored, and probably should have done better when Merino set him up inside the Preston box. In the second half he hit the top of the bar and sliced another shot wide, all the while misplacing just one pass (98.2% pass accuracy) throughout the 80 minutes he was on the pitch.

I feel like I’m repeating myself, but every time I see him play, I’m left with a desire to see more of him. Primarily that’s because of the quality of his game, but when you couple that with his youth, it makes for a very exciting cocktail. Afterwards, Mikel Arteta was asked about him and said:

There’s so much personality there, he wants to involve himself, he wants every ball, he wants to make things happen. He’s a big talent. He’s got the right attitude, he’s got the right players and context around him and we need to make sure we put brick-by-brick in the right tempo, the right order but we’ve got some player there.

I don’t doubt that over the course of this season, Nwaneri’s playing time will increase exponentially. You can’t ignore that kind of talent when every time you give it a chance it delivers in one way or another. He isn’t so much knocking on the door, but banging it down at this point, and does anyone really have any doubt that he is ready – whether it’s Carabao Cup, Premier League or Champions League? His progression is going to be a lot of fun to watch.

There were planned half-time changes, with Merino and Timber coming off, and it was Kai Havertz who made it 3-0, heading home an excellent Kiwior cross to make the game completely safe. By the way, with his two assists last night, the Polish international is in third place in the assist charts alongside Declan Rice and behind Saka (7) and Martinelli (3).

There were other chances to score, some last-ditch defending from Preston stopped us extending the lead a couple of times, and it was a decent night for a couple of other young players with young goalkeeper Tommy Setford keeping a clean sheet on his Arsenal debut, while there was also a debut for defender Ayden Heaven. Afterwards, Arteta said:

We talked about playing with enthusiasm in this game, playing with the right attitude and commitment and they certainly showed that so I’m very happy to be in the quarter-finals.

The draw was made last night, and our opponents will be Crystal Palace, a game that takes place at the Emirates in the week commencing December 16th. A return for Eddie Nketiah, but also a good chance for Arsenal to reach a cup semi-final. For now though, this competition goes on the back burner as we prepare for three difficult away games, starting with Newcastle on Saturday.

Stick with us for a bit of a post-game Arsecast this morning too. For now though, have a good one.