October 30, (THEWILL) — Arsenal booked their place in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals with a 2–0 win over Brighton and Hove Albion at home on Wednesday, though the performance raised questions about their defensive solidity. Manager Mikel Arteta fielded a heavily rotated side containing four teenagers, with only Eberechi Eze retained from the weekend’s English Premier League fixture against Crystal Palace.
Brighton dominated much of the contest, outshooting their hosts and creating several clear chances in the opening stages. Georginio Rutter and Stefanos Tzimas both squandered one-on-one opportunities inside the first 10 minutes. Goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga made six saves on the night, a stark contrast to first-choice, David Raya, who has faced just five shots since September.
Ethan Nwaneri opened the scoring with a composed finish after a fluid team move saw Mikel Merino provide an inventive back-heel to Myles Lewis-Skelly, who laid the ball off for the teenager to sweep home. Bukayo Saka added a second late on, converting the rebound after debutant, Andre Harriman-Annous, was denied by Jason Steele following Jurriën Timber’s defence-splitting pass.
The hosts’ newly configured back line proved considerably more vulnerable than usual. Piero Hincapié was forced into a desperate block after Cristhian Mosquera surrendered possession cheaply, whilst Brighton continued to threaten throughout the second period despite falling behind.
Arteta’s side progressed to the last eight, but the evening’s fragile defensive display is unlikely to encourage any shift away from his typically cautious approach.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
