An Arsenal team of second-string players and youth stars had no trouble at all breezing past FC Vorskla on Thursday, winning the match 3-0 in Kiev.
With the North London derby on Sunday, Unai Emery had a call to make in midweek. Starting his star players would wear them out, and even taking them on the trip to sit in freezing conditions after a long journey to Ukraine could hardly do them any good.
As a result, he decided to trust in the Arsenal academy to fill the gaps in the squad, and it worked a treat. Let’s have a look at our individual player ratings for the match:
3Forwards
Joe Willock 9
Before the game, Arsenal fans who haven’t watched Willock playing a single minute of football since last season were writing him off. If you’d watched him in u23 matches recently, you wouldn’t be surprised at how well he went on to perform after that.
Just like in the youth games, Willock was a big threat going forward. His Thierry Henry-style finish got him his first goal, and both of his other two shots were on target too, forcing a couple of saves. The midfielder also got back well, making the joint-most tackles in the team.
Emile Smith Rowe 9
Smith Rowe was just as impressive as Willock, particularly in the first half. He took his goal nicely, linked up with Ramsey well to win the penalty, and created more chances throughout the match than any other member of the front four.
Arsenal took their foot off the gas a bit in the second 45 minutes, but Smith Rowe did test the goalkeeper well on one occasion, and had the ball in the net on another, only for it to be pulled back for a Nketiah offside.
Eddie Nketiah 8.5
Nketiah probably came off the pitch disappointed not to have scored, after failing to score a decent chance or two. However, he should be proud of his performance overall.
No one completed more dribbles than the 19-year-old as he tested the Vorskla defence time and again, creating good chances for himself and his teammates. On another day one of his shots goes in and he wins the man-of-the-match award.