With an extremely comfortable first half of possession, control and composure, after the half time break things got a little nervy as the Gunners went down to ten men. A short while later, having seen a two goal advanatge halved, the visitors themselves then lost a man, leveling the numbers and leaving Arsenal to see it out.
Things looked good for the first forty-five, with the only blemish being a silly and pointless (but perhaps a little harsh) yellow card for Matteo Guendouzi. Under 23s captain and centre half Julio Pleguezuelo made his senior debut whilst young attacking midfielder Emile Smith-Rowe also come in to the starting XI. Everyone's favourite Carl 'Livin The Dream' Jenkinson made his return to the first team fold as well in what was actually a decent night for the lad. So with a good blend of youth and experience, the Gunners dominated the first half with Blackpool seeing very little ball and depending deep for very long periods of time. The deadlock was broken shortly before half time when midfield dictator Matteo Guendouzi chipped through a flat dink that found marauding full back Stephan Lichtsteiner who broke the offside trap and one-touched home on the volley. Good goal, good finish. Arsenal had what they deserved.
The second half starts with much more of the same. Blackpool however looked a little more spiritely and tried hard to make something happen. Arsenal did find their second shortly after the restart though as some neat play down the left flank saw Carl Jenkinson finish the move with a high floating cross that the goalie failed to deal with. It dropped down nicely for Emile Smith-Rowe to smash into the net with a skuffed volley bouncing before nestling high in the net. 2-0 and the Arsenal march on. THis didn't last long though and six minutes after the goal, Matteo Guendouzi was shown a second yellow card for what was another pointless and synical foul - that deserved a caution. Because of his pointless and silly yellow in the first half, he saw red. All of a sudden what was comfortable night became incredibly nervy. This worsened when Blackpool found a goal with a well hit header from a well-whipped in corner. This wasn't the first time the visitors threatened from a corner, and much like recent histry, the Gunners failed to learn from their mistakes. 2-1 with twenty-four minutes left. A nervy passage followed with Emery making two more substitutions in an attempt to solidify the midfield. Torreira had already entered the fray between Arsenal's yellow and Blackpool's goal. The teams were leveled when Blackpool goal scorer Paudie O'Connor also saw red in the final six minutes. Arsenal eventually got home and now face the Spuds in a NLD League Cup quarter final in December.
Player Ratings:
Petr Cech: 6
In what was a generally quiet night for the Cech the Czech, he did little but get the ball out of his net then tried his hardest to mess it all up in the final few minutes when his footwork let him down again. A fortuitous offside helped save his and Arsenal's blushes. Did not do enough to displace current starter Bernd Leno.
Stephan Lichtsteiner: 7
The Swiss is far more comfortable at right back than left, and much like all other defenders in red, had little to do in the first half. He scored a decent goal (his first for the club) and was vocal across the inexperienced backline. Job done but far from glamorous.
Shkodran Mustafi: 7
Led fellow centre back Pleguezuelo quite well surprisingly and did narrowly miss a cracking header in the second half. Defended pretty well but generally quiet night other than Blackpool's set piece goal where he should have placed his defensive unit better with much more organised marking.
Julio Pleguezuelo: 7
On debut, the young Spaniard looked very comfortable in Arsenal colours. A good technical footballers who's big but composed on the ball who did his job reasonably well. A one or two aerial battles from long balls that were handled well and he remained hard working and focused throughout.
Carl Jenkinson: 7.5
The return of Carl 'Livin The Dream' Jenkinson after months out in the cold (and on loan). Having been part of last week's Europa League squad, he got the start in this one at left back. Being on his lesser comfortable side deserves some credit as does his energetic forward running which led to a good assist for ESR's goal.
Matteo Guendouzi: 8
It's unusual to see the MOTM see red and not complete the game with well over half an hour left on the clock, Guendouzi although foolish to get a silly first yellow looked outstanding with the ball at his feet. Controlling the match and dictating play from deep, he grabbed a class assist for Arsenal's first goal and continued to deliver stylish football until leaving the field in the second half.
Aaron Ramsey: 7
After a tough week for the Welshman, he looked in and out of the game in all fairness - which is pretty understandable. Having clearly been dropped down a level to cup starter rather than league starter, Ramsey fluttered in and out of play all night. Did some good things and knitted play well at times.
Henrikh Mhkitaryan: 6
The Armenian struggled to get into the game for much of the first half and kept drifting in off the blanks to try and get involved. Wasn't a great performance from someone so experienced and is potentially why he's also been dropped to a cup starter. Play picked up a little in the second half where he got involved with some good play leading to Jenko's assist.
Emile Smith-Rowe: 7.5
Another start and another goal for the young Englisman who looks incredibly comfortable with first team life. Great movement, forward running and anticipation all night enabled him to smash home his second senior goal, which was fully deserved. Another step in the right direction for the young lad.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles: 6.5
A first senior game since August for AMN was all about getting minutes under his belt and time on the pitch at first team level. Having played for the U23s last weekend, this was the perfect platform for him to stretch his legs and increase his match fitness levels. Was involved often enough and was solid with and without the ball, before coming off after the hour mark.
Danny Welbeck: 7
Having been in decent cup form, Welbz would have been disappointed to not score against a lower league opposition having started up the middle ahead of Lacazette and Aubameyang. Not a lot to report for him here but ran tirelessly as we're used to seeing and was eventually withdrawn in the second half.
Substitutes:
Lucas Torreira: 6
Played for the final thirty minutes in an attempt to solidify the centre of the park. Did his usual job pretty well and was not at fault for a set piece goal. Controlled the holding role well and performed to his now regular standards.
Alex Iwobi: 5
On the pitch for only fifteen minutes or so to add a little more experience to the proceedings. Got involved where he could and ran hard.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang: 5
Also came on the final ten of fifteen minutes in order to take it back to Blackpool by stretching their defence with his pace. Sucked in O'Conner for a crunching scissor tackle that saw him see red.
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