At 3-1 the Bolton fans were chuckling to themselves with a rendition of “Johnny, Johnny Stones” to the tune of “Daddy Cool” by Boney M.
At 5-1, they were singing in the rain.
It’s good to know that the dying embers of hostility still exist for them. For us it was an opportunity to show that we have some marvellous young talent that is rising up through the ranks of Hale End.
Mikel Arteta is a man who wants to win. He is a ruthless manager who knows what he wants and regardless of the competition, he wants to win football match after football match. That’s why in recent season’s we’ve gone in to Europa League games, or FA Cup games, in which he’s named strong squads. So in his press conference on Tuesday where he said we don’t have enough first team players fit and there would need to be some first teamers out there, I did believe for a few hours leading up to the game yesterday evening, that he’d select a pretty strong squad to play the Wanderers from League One. And to be fair to him, he did name a few first team surprise inclusions yesterday, with Saka and Calafiori both being selected for the starting XI. I speculated that I thought Rice might start and he duly did, but I wasn’t prepared for the inclusion of a 16-year-old Jack Porter in goal, that’s for sure.
Perhaps it speaks to the faith the manager has in some of these players, perhaps it speaks to the necessity of needing to give some of the regulars a rest, but The Arsenal had a very youthful feel to it with Lewis-Skelly, Josh Nichols, Ethan Nwaneri to it, but we still had a strong enough side to batter Bolton and after 16 minutes and Declan Rice’s first goal to set us off, it kind of felt that way.
It sounds like a massive gamble playing a 16-year-old in goal, but the reality was that this was an experienced enough back four – despite their collective ages – with the technical quality to keep the ball away from the youngster and for that first half at least, Bolton’s only real threat came from a couple of corners in which they naturally pumped the ball right underneath Porter’s nose to test him. He punched one away and if I recall rightly the other was headed away by one of the Arsenal outfield players.
We ran this game pretty much throughout and when our second goal eventually came around thanks to a fine ball by Lewis-Skelly to Sterling, followed by a good cross low in to the box, the ‘new Starboy’ Nwaneri was there to bundle the ball home to make what really did feel like the match winning goal. Half time went, I was treated to some nice hospitality in a box (never done that before, so was a bit different from my usual Block Five position by the corner flag), it all felt rather comfortable and we awaited to see how this team would fair in the second half.
And only four minutes in to that half it really was done and dusted, with Nwaneri getting his second of the night from a sloppy ball in the Bolton third, to give this kid a first team debut of some reckoning. That second one secured him man-of-the-match on the night, but he might have won it without it and afterwards when you’ve somebody with as exacting ‘fogging estandards’ as Arteta saying things like “You can tell he’s playing without pressure, with confidence, with a way of making decisions that tells you that the boy is ready at this level”, you know that this kid has something about him. I like the way he can quickly swivel and turn his body; he has an ability to spin one way and then the next so quickly and that helps him to create a yard or two of space, but he’s also got the eye for a pass and when to make it and when to drive and dribble with the ball. Arsenal has a good history of boy wonders (Adams, Cole, Wilshere, Fabregas, Saka) and this lad looks like another one off the production line. And to bag two goals like this will have given him so much confidence that he can take in to the first team proper. We are low on numbers in midfield, so to see a young player like this take his chance as he did, not only is it heart-warming from an Arsenal fan perspective, but it is also valuable from a squad depth perspective, because with each game like this Arteta knows that he count count on Nwaneri if needed.
I would have liked Saka to have played a little less and I’d be lying if I didn’t say a few Hail Mary’s in my head to protect Havertz, Martinelli, Gabriel Jesus and Rice for the weekend, but we got through it all and there were a few more goals to add in as well. Raheem Sterling is off the mark with the easiest goal he’ll score in his career and Havertz added to his tally for the season with a smart finish. We’ve been repeatedly told that Havertz doesn’t get enough goals and although this is a ‘lesser’ competition, it still adds to his total tally for the season and that makes it three now before September has ended. He’ll probably have an ambition to beat last season’s tally of 14 goals and with three already you’d think he’s in a decent enough space to achieve that marker this season.
Other than that there’s not really a lot to make of this game, which finished with Arsenal fielding a lad at the back called Maldini who I swear was in the Harry Potter movies. He’s quite a unit but did his job well enough and we saw the game out comfortably and with a trip to Preston in the next round secured.
And now attention turns back to the Premier League on Saturday. There are some rumours coming out that Raya isn’t 100% nailed on to make it, but Neto will be back for that one and you’d think we should have a number of players who will be rested and ready for the challenge of the Foxes.
Back tomorrow with some thoughts ahead of that game but, until then, enjoy your Thursday and basking in another Arsenal win.
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