Arsenal defeated Brentford 3-1 to progress to the next round of the League Cup on Wednesday, in a game that was a lot closer than the first-half suggested it would be.
Arsenal came out of the traps quickly at the start of the match, and took the lead in the first five minutes. For the remainder of the half the Gunners dominated, and scored a second before the break.
When the two teams came back out though, Brentford looked like they had nothing to lose, and really put Unai Emery’s team under pressure. Fortunately Arsenal maintained a 2-1 lead until the 93rd minute, when Alexandre Lacazette killed the game with a third.
Let’s have a look at how the players did individually.
2Midfield
Matteo Guendouzi 7
After such a strong start to the season, Guendouzi had looked a little off his best in his last couple of appearances. This was a return to form though, and he set up Danny Welbeck very well for the opening goal. Still not a perfect performance, but Guendouzi is clearly willing to keep fighting to prove himself.
Mohamed Elneny 6.5
Elneny did a good job of shielding the defence, particularly in the second half when Brentford came on strong. His work in possession wasn’t quite so impressive, but solid enough. The problem is most of Arsenal’s other central midfielders are offering more than ‘solid’ at the moment.
Emile Smith Rowe 7.5
A full debut for the 18-year-old, and an exciting one. He made great forward runs for the 65 minutes he spent on the pitch. The one criticism from Unai Emery was that he looked a bit nervy finishing off those chances. That’s to be expected on your first start though, and the talent was clearly there for all to see.
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