Arsenal do the welcome and expected West Midlands business

West Bromwich Albion 0 Arsenal 6   
League Cup 2nd Round   
Wednesday 26th August 2021  8pm    

Given the two starting line-ups, a defeat at the Hawthorns would have been pretty much unthinkable, and in a sense, although a competitive match, there was a feeling of a pre-season run-out to this cup tie. West Brom’s priority is unquestionably returning to the Premier League, and as such it was evident – with 46 league matches to play, that progress in this competition was – although not undesired – of little importance. One suspects in the case of an upset, a similar team would be fielded in the next round by Baggies’ manager Valerien Ismael. 

However, given the gap in experience and talent, the 6-0 win was about right. The home side certainly pressed quite hard early on, and came very close to scoring at 0-0. But ultimately their high line played into Arsenal’s hands as balls played in behind into acres of space allowed the forwards to capitalise. 3-0 at half time, with Aubameyang twice benefitting from shots from colleagues that were foiled at the first attempt – by a save (from Saka) and the post (from Pepe) respectively. Pepe got one himself, set up by Aubameyang, and the game was done and dusted when the teams went in for the break. 

Aaron Ramsdale made his debut, and generally looked good, both in possession and with the saves he did have to make. Given Bernd Leno’s contract situation, he might see more action than some believe if Leno starts to make more errors, especially with his distribution. Martin Odegaard returned, having joined the club on a full-time basis, and as you would expect against this level of opposition, looked very good. Stiffer tests are to come which will determine how much that half season of Premier League football he gained on loan has given him a platform to have greater impact on results. Bukayo Saka played on the left side of the attack, and was far more dangerous as a consequence. He scored himself shortly after the interval to make it 4-0, combining nicely with Odegaard. Aubameyang completed his hat-trick with a beautifully hit shot, given too much space to run to the edge of the area, and Alex Lacazette got a much-needed 20 odd minutes from the bench, sealed with a well-finished goal. 

So job done, third round tie at home to AFC Wimbledon and a bit of feelgood for the club ahead of a very difficult trip to the Etihad on Saturday lunchtime, and the likely prospect of remaining in the bottom three going into the international break. After losing to Brentford, that always seemed likely. As much as anything, Arteta would be best served spending the next couple of months bedding in a predictable starting eleven, in a consistent formation. Right back remains a concern and some activity in the transfer market would not go amiss in the next four days. With Granit Xhaka remaining on the books, the solid defensive midfielder the club are crying out for looks unlikely now, and who knows what is going to happen with Alex Lacazette, now in the final season of his contract. The lack of any involvement from Hector Bellerin in recent games does suggest he might get his wish for first team football elsewhere, although the club are stating he is injured. 

It should, in theory, be a busy few days for Edu and Tim Garlick. There is certainly business to be done, although it should be remembered that Arsenal have already spent a lot of money in this window. One imagines that sales will have to be made to fund acquisitions. Mikel Arteta promised Ben White there would be one more big signing. I’m assuming he wasn’t referring to a back-up keeper. We’ll know by the end of Tuesday, by which time the Manchester City match will likely have told us what we already know, in terms of the current squad’s ability to compete. I do hope I am wrong, and hey, football is full of surprises – right?

(Apologies I didn’t have the time to pen this the morning after the game, but the glory of doing your own blog is that you make your own rules!) 

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