Arsenal FC has secured its place in the League Cup quarterfinals. After the 2-0 win against Brighton, head coach Mikel Arteta raved about a “wonderful evening” — and a 15-year-old.
Arsenal FC has now strung together eight competitive wins in a row – and is at the top of the list of favorites in several competitions. After the 2-0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion in the League Cup, head coach Mikel Arteta raved about a “wonderful evening for so many reasons.”
There was the quarter-final qualification, the opportunity to rest many regulars, and on top of that: “We played players who I have never played together against a very strong Premier League team before.”
Compared to last weekend’s 1-0 win over Crystal Palace, Artea made a total of ten changes. Among them was summer signing Piero Hincapie, who came from Leverkusen and made his first start for the Gunners. Alongside Cristhian Mosquera, the Ecuadorian secured the sixth clean sheet in a row.
“They’ve never played together before, so it takes time to build that chemistry,” Arteta said, but added: “I think they played really, really well today. Piero in particular hadn’t played that many minutes yet. There are a lot of positives again, but also some very important lessons that we need to take very seriously.”
The “great evening” was also marked by the starting debuts of striker Andre Harriman-Annous and right winger Max Dowman. “I think everyone is very, very proud of what they have achieved, how they have responded to this big challenge at their age, and that we won the game,” Arteta summed up.
Arteta expects Dowman to make “regular appearances”
Harriman-Annous is 17, Dowman just 15 years old. “He just does what he does best, which is play soccer,” Arteta raved about Dowman. No Arsenal professional in the club’s history has ever been younger when making his starting lineup debut. “He showed incredible ability again today,” added Arteta, who even expects Dowman to make “regular appearances.” But he also needs to be protected. Because: “There are many things that are new in his life. We have to make sure he takes the right steps. And he has to be able to deal with that.” A structure that undoubtedly works at Arsenal should help keep Dowman grounded.