Arsenal progressed to the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup with a 3-0 victory over Preston North End at Deepdale Stadium on Wednesday evening.
Arsenal were fully deserving of their victory against the Championship outfit, as they dominated possession and territory throughout.
Mikel Arteta was also able to make use of this fixture, as he often does in this competition, to rotate his starting XI and rest some of his key players. For instance, Jorginho, Oleksandr Zinchenko, and Jakub Kiwior all came into the side for this clash.
Gabriel Jesus, having fallen down the pecking order at the Emirates Stadium, was able to end his lengthy goalscoring drought. Meanwhile, Ethan Nwaneri made Arsenal history. The 17-year-old wonderkid became the youngest player to ever score in each of his first two starts for the club.
Kai Havertz came on from the bench to round out the scoring, whilst Bukayo Saka and Thomas Partey were also afforded runouts to keep themselves sharp.
Arsenal will now face Crystal Palace in the next round of the competition.
Tottenham Hotspur vs Manchester City shock must change Arsenal approach
The Gunners will be considered heavy favourites heading into this encounter with the Eagles, and with fixtures piling up Arteta will once again be tempted to shake up his starting picks. However, he must now resist this urge.
EFL Cup results elsewhere on Wednesday evening have now changed to complexion of this tournament from an Arsenal perspective.
Manchester City, who have won this competition six times in the last ten years, were surprisingly eliminated by Tottenham Hotspur. Meanwhile, last season’s defeated EFL Cup finalists Chelsea were knocked out by Newcastle United.
Whilst the holders Liverpool do still remain in the competition, Arsenal will now likely be considered favourites for the trophy. Suddenly, this is a tournament that Arteta needs to take far more seriously and attack in earnest.
Why Mikel Arteta must seize EFL Cup opportunity
To have Manchester City out of the competition at this stage has given the Gunners an improved chance of getting their hands on the trophy.
Arteta has promised Arsenal fans that he will deliver silverware. On top of that, Arteta has made no secret of his desire for trophies.
Above all, his players need to experience winning something together, getting a taste for it, and gaining the belief that they have what it takes to go all the way in a competition. This will give them an enormous boost when it comes to chasing Premier League and Champions League crowns.
Winning the EFL Cup this season would represent a huge step forward in Arteta’s project, and could spur his side on to more major honours in the near future.
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