Arsenal smashed West Brom 6-0 at the Hawthorns in the second round of the EFL Cup on Wednesday night to secure their first win of the new season.
After struggles against Brentford and Chelsea in the Premier League, the Gunners bounced back against a youthful West Brom side, gaining their players much needed fitness and confidence.
Mikel Arteta named a fairly strong side for the game, handing Aaron Ramsdale and Martin Odegaard debuts as well as bringing in the returning Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Despite a testing start for the Gunners, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang opened the scoring 16 minutes in, tapping in a rebound following a low shot from Bukayo Saka.
The lead was doubled in the 44th minute as Nicolas Pepe was played through 1 on 1. The Ivorian struck a shot off the base of the post with the ball fortuitously falling for Aubameyang to bag his second of the game.
Just before half time, Pepe tapped in Arsenal's third after Aubameyang had bicycle kicked Alex Palmer's save across the six yard box following a failed chip.
4 minutes after the break, Saka picked up the ball near halfway, driving forwards before playing a one two with Martin Odegaard and emphatically firing the ball into the far corner to put Arsenal 4-0 up.
Aubameyang completed his hat trick in the 62nd minute, drifting out wide to receive the ball before cutting inside and curling a shot into the far corner.
Alexandre Lacazette, a late substitute, capped off the rout in the 68th minute, slotting in a low cross from Pepe.
Whilst it was only a youthful side from West Brom, the game showed the importance of balance in Arsenal's attack.
Fielding Aubameyang through the middle as a central striker and Pepe on the right allowed Arsenal to exploit the space in behind West Brom's high line with the pair's movement and pace. Combining them with Saka and Odegaard provided two players who could help find the runs in behind as well as link the play, whilst offering a threat themselves.
Arsenal's second goal showcases how Arteta envisages his side playing through teams. Odegaard drops deeper to help overload the West Brom press, allowing Chambers to fizz the ball into him. The Norwegian flicks the ball round the corner allowing Elneny, who has the run on his man, to collect the ball in space.
As Elneny runs onto the ball, Pepe makes a run from outside to in, opening up the passing lane for Elneny to play the ball in behind. At the bottom left of the image, Aubameyang has made a similar run on the other side, both providing Elneny with another option, and giving Pepe an easy pass once he through.
Pepe opts to shoot, sticking the bottom of the post as the ball falls to Aubameyang. The Arsenal captain slows his run to create separation from the West Brom defenders to give himself an easy tap in.
The goal highlights how Arsenal can break through an opposition press with quick passing and direct running off the ball.
This balance is something which Arteta has struggled to find so far in his spell as Arsenal boss. The Spaniard would benefit from being more selective in his use of forwards dependent on opposition.
Against West Brom's high line, Aubameyang and Pepe were perfect options to exploit the space in behind and against the likes of Manchester City they would help to offer a threat on the counter.
Against teams that press high, two of Saka, Odegaard and Smith Rowe need to play in order to help drop into midfield and overload the press in order to get Arsenal up the pitch.
Against deep blocks, playing Lacazette through the middle Odegaard helps Arsenal to play between the lines and facilitate quick interplay to break the opposition defence down.
Arsenal have a plethora of talented attackers who have each individually thrived under Arteta, the challenge now is to make them thrive together.
Arsenal fell to a 2-0 defeat to London rivals Chelsea last Sunday, despite a returning crowd of 58,729 at the Emirates Stadium.
After the issues at Brentford the week before, Arsenal's luck did not improve, with Ben White testing positive for Covid-19 two days before the game and Martin Odegaard's visa preventing him from playing.
Three changes were made from the side that lost on opening day, with Rob Holding, Cedric Soares and Bukayo Saka coming into the team for Ben White, Calum Chambers and Folarin Balogun.
Buoyed by the home fans, Arsenal looked bright in the opening stages, but it all went downhill 15 minutes in when Chelsea's £97.5 million new signing Romelu Lukaku tapped in a Reece James cross into the empty net.
The lead was doubled 20 minutes later as Chelsea stretched the Arsenal defence with Mount playing the ball out wide to Reece James who fired the ball into the far corner over Bernd Leno.
Arsenal were able to stabilise the game but struggled offensively with Bukayo Saka in particular looking off the pace. At the other end, Romelu Lukaku continued to bully the Arsenal defence but was unable to add a third for Chelsea thanks to an excellent reaction save from Bernd Leno.
It was a poor display from Arsenal, but like against Brentford, the circumstances around the squad made the game especially difficult. The balance of Arteta's squad is so fine and having so many key players out is always going to cause problems.
Up next for Arsenal is an away trip to the Etihad to play Manchester City at 12:30pm on Saturday. The midweek game against West Brom has put the Gunners in a better place with players returning and morale boosted, however a game against the champions will likely prove a step too far.
Manchester City have won the last 8 Premier League meetings against Arsenal, with the Gunners scoring just twice in those games. City will be keen to lay down a marker following strong starts from Liverpool and Chelsea, having lost to Tottenham on opening day before beating Norwich 5-0 last weekend.
Prediction: Manchester City 3 - 0 Arsenal
Adam Perry - 27/08/2021