It took Unai Emery one attempt to taste victory in the FA Cup as his Arsenal team comfortably swept aside League One Blackpool yesterday evening. A mixture of youth and first team players got the job done, 3-0 and a spot in round four...not much more the Head Coach could ask for.
Academy product Joe Willock started in the midfield area alongside experienced campaigners Aaron Ramsey and Mo Elneny. And it didn't take long for them to combine as Aaron Ramsey's deflected free kick flew on to the bar and bounced out right to Joe Willock who headed home from short range. Blackpool threatened from a couple of set pieces as expected but nothing Petr Cech couldn't handle. Willock then grabbed a second, again from short range, as a good team move culminated in a ball in from the right hand side that evaded keeper and defence through to the far post where Willock dug out the finish. 2-0 and pretty much cruising as Lacazette entered the scene and livened things up a little. He was involved as Alex Iwobi slotted home a (dubious looking) third goal late on.
Ratings and Talking Points
Unai Emery: 8.5
The Head Coach got things pretty on point for this one and even when skipper Koscielny pulled out in the warm up, he got the replacement right as he promoted Jenko to the starting XI.
The only small thing that is worth noting is that he replaced a determined looking Eddie Nketiah for Alex Lacazette in the second half for no real reason. Nketiah had a couple of chances and although should have scored at least one of them, he did deserve a goal. So leaving him on would have given him more opportunity to find the net, something that would have excelled his confidence. Exposing Lacazette in an all but dead game could have come back to bite him should the Frenchman have picked up an injury.
Petr Cech: 7
Carl Jenkinson: 7.5
Stephan Lichtsteiner: 7
Sokratis: 7
Sead Kolasinac: 7.5
Mohamed Elneny: 7
Aaron Ramsey: 8.5
Joe Willock: 9
Alex Iwobi: 8
Eddie Nketiah: 7.5
Ainsley Maitland-Niles: 8
Subs
Alex Lacazette: 7
Bukayo Saka: N/A
Zech Medley: N/A
Academy as Bright as its Ever Been
As many as four academy products started the game and although is was expected that youngsters would start, the ones that did are pretty much first team level. Iwobi and Maitland-Niles have been involved for a while but added now are Nketiah and Willock. The additions on the bench including Saka and Medley that both came on show that Ljungberg and Mertesacker are doing the business in leading the U23 and Academy sides extremely well. With Reiss Nelson showcasing his talents so in with Hoffenheim in the German Bundesliga as well, the conveyor belt of talent continues to arrive.
The Curious Case of Alex Iwobi
The young, homegrown Londoner has been around for a while now but have we really seen him improve year on year? Still only twenty-two but a fully fledged first teamer, Iwobi can go from excellent to completely incompetent with minutes, sometimes even within the same move. We've him him dazzle by picking the ball up and beat two or three but then trip over the ball before beating another or putting in a cross. He's often so nearly better than average. Unfortunately for him, he does play in positions where players are judged on their output of goals and assists, and rightly so. But that isn't all that he's about. Unlike Mkhitaryan, Ozil and PEA (when wide), he tracks back and protects his defence well. And another goal, albeit late on against Blackpool, shows he is more than capable. The Alex Iwobi debate continues...
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