Arsenal’s next generation delivered again on Wednesday night, beating Brighton 2-0 at the Emirates to reach the Carabao Cup quarter-finals, where they will face Crystal Palace.
It was a throwback to the Arsène Wenger era when the League Cup was a stage for young players to show what they had. This time, Mikel Arteta’s side took that idea and raised the level.
Ethan Nwaneri and Bukayo Saka scored the goals, but it was 15-year-old Max Dowman who stole the show. Making his first start, and becoming the youngest player ever to start for a Premier League club, Dowman showed once again why there is so much excitement about him. Calm, sharp and confident, he looked completely at home.
Arteta said afterwards: “For him everything is natural.
“I think that’s the secret, that he doesn’t make a big fuss of it. He just does what he does best, which is to play football, to play football with a lot of courage and determination. Today, again, he has shown some incredible skill, some capacity to run past players at that level in the Premier League, at 15. It’s something definitely special.”
Arsenal’s first half was understandably scrappy after making so many changes, with Kepa Arrizabalaga keeping them level, but they grew into the game after the break.
Mikel Merino’s clever backheel opened up Brighton’s defence, Myles Lewis-Skelly squared, and Nwaneri finished with confidence.
Saka, on from the bench and wearing the captain’s armband, wrapped it up with a low strike 14 minutes from time after Jurrien Timber‘s rampaging run.
Arsenal’s clean sheet was their sixth in a row (the first team in English football history to do that in a month), and their eighth straight win in all competitions as Liverpool fell to their sixth defeat in seven games.
“A very special evening, to be fair, very happy for various reasons,” Arteta added after the game.
“Obviously, we are in the quarter-finals, we won the game against a really tough opponent. We made 10 changes, we played players that never played together, yet we had two huge debuts for Max [Dowman and Andre [Harriman-Annous].
“That feeling of giving the opportunity to somebody and fulfilling a dream is unique. I’m very happy that things turned out to be very positive and we managed to win the game.
Asked about Harriman-Annous, who had a quiet but industrious evening, Arteta said, “Well, since pre-season when he was with us, I was very impressed with him. First of all, his mentality, how much he wants it. That’s the first ingredient.
“He’s desperate to achieve his dream. I think he’s been very consistent, training with us and constantly giving us the option to pick him. I believe today was the right day for him, for the context, for the way he’s playing as well. He certainly proved that he’s got a chance.”
The quarter-final draw now pits the Gunners against Palace once again, a year on from the 3-2 win at this stage when Gabriel Jesus hit a hat-trick.
The tie will be played at the Emirates in the week beginning 15 December, although how they fit that game in with Palace’s European commitments will cause a headache for someone.
It is unlikely the Brazilian will feature as he continues his recovery from the ACL injury picked up just 25 days after that last quarter-final. He is expected back in the new year.
Carabao Cup quarter-final draw in full
- Arsenal v Crystal Palace
- Cardiff City v Chelsea
- Manchester City v Brentford
- Newcastle United v Fulham