Piero Hincapie’s Arsenal career just lifted off after what he did against Brighton

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Arsenal defender Piero Hincapie made his first start for the Gunners in the Carabao Cup win over Brighton.

Hincapie made Arsenal history on his Premier League debut by becoming the first Ecuadorian to represent the club in the competition.

Days later, the 23-year-old was awarded more minutes by Mikel Arteta, who started the summer signing against Brighton.

Hincapie has been impressing Arteta behind the scenes, and now, Arsenal fans are starting to realise the calibre of player Andrea Berta captured on deadline day.

Piero Hincapie showed his quality against Brighton

Signed from Bayer Leverkusen on an initial loan, Hincapie has had to wait to get the ball rolling at the Emirates.

The versatile defender has recovered from the injury that left him sidelined in the opening stages of the season and is now showing that he’s ready to make an impact.

Against Brighton, Hincapie looked right at home, as his highly impressive statistics portrayed from his 70-minute cameo. 

Sofascore listed Hincapie as the highest-performing player on the pitch during the contest, and it’s clear to see how the Ecuadorian earned the title. 

Arsenal fans were impressed by Hincapie’s Premier League debut and would’ve felt similarly after seeing what the loanee produced on his Carabao Cup debut.

From showcasing his avid duel-winning ability to being fouled twice by the opposition, Hincapie truly announced himself to the Emirates to help Arsenal on their way to the quarter-final.

Mikel Arteta’s first thoughts about Hincapie and Cristhian Mosquera’s partnership

Hincapie was brilliant, but he was helped by fellow summer arrival Cristhian Mosquera.

It was expected that Mosquera and Hincapie would start together in the contest, and by pairing the duo, Arteta unleashed a new central defensive combination.

• READ MORE: Piero Hincapie describes Cristhian Mosquera using one word after Arsenal unleash new partnership

After the win, the Arsenal manager gave his first thoughts on seeing the two players combine.

“Very good. I think those two are going to complement each other really, really well,” Arteta said in his post-match press conference.

“I’m very happy with what I’ve seen. Again, they’ve never played together. I think they’ve trained two or three times together, and that will keep improving. But I’m very happy.”

For two players who have barely had the time to gel, it was a terrific first outing for Hincapie and Mosquera, who will have plenty of chances to show their worth as the season progresses.