Several Hale Enders put on a show as Arsenal thrashed League one Bolton in the League Cup. It was a line up reminiscent of many of Wenger’s sides in this competition from yesteryear partially due to injuries as well as a few players knocking on Arteta’s door following good showings in our preseason tour of the US.
As expected, Myles Lewis- Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri both started after both being given Premier League minutes in the past week. There were also first team debuts for Josh Nichols and 16-year-old goalkeeper, Jack Porter. More on him later.
There was also a full debut for Raheem Sterling whilst both Rice and Saka started, perhaps surprisingly. Bolton did start the game confidently and perhaps should have gone ahead in the first few minutes as former Burnley man Scott Arfield fired over from close range. But Arsenal showed their topflight quality by scoring with their first real attack. Josh Nichol’s cross wasn’t dealt with as the ball found its way to Rice on the edge of the box. Dec took a touch to set himself before firing into the bottom corner. 1-0 on 15 mins.
Shortly before the break Arsenal found a stylish second. The build-up was superb as Myles Lewis- Skelly played an Ozil/Bergkamp-esque through ball to Sterling on the left and the seasoned international played a perfect first-time ball to Nwaneri to tap home for his first ever senior goal at 17 years of age. In doing so, he became the first player born after the club moved to The Emirates to score for Arsenal. Even I feel old just typing that.
Nwaneri’s night got even better just after the break as Rice stole the ball in the final third and played in Nwaneri who slammed home to make it three and double his personal tally. I could be being pedantic here, but I felt as though despite his goal, Nwaneri should’ve played in Rice who was in a better position. A Premier League goalkeeper may well have saved that. But Nwaneri is now the youngest Arsenal player to score a brace on his full competitive debut so what do I know?
Bolton managed a surprise goal shortly after. We lost possession in the final third and Collins found himself in acres of space before rounding young Porter as he rolled in a consolation. Was it poor goalkeeping? Yes, but 16 is outrageously young for a goalkeeper. At 16 years and 2 months he is remarkably the youngest ever player to start for Arsenal. He is younger than Fabregas was when he scored that famous screamer at the San Siro, and younger than the first series of The Inbetweeners. To put things into perspective, Porter was 11 when Arteta took over. In truth, the real question is why Porter’s goal wasn’t better protected by his more senior teammates. The sole blot on an otherwise perfect evening.
Ten minutes later we restored our three-goal cushion after successfully taking the sting out of Bolton’s short-lived resurgence. Saka turned two Bolton defenders inside out and back to front before drilling a low shot that was spilled by the ‘keeper allowing Raheem Sterling to prod home from two yards out. A goal and assist on his full debut, you can’t have any complaints about that.
Unfortunately, Myles Lewis Skelly had to go off with what looked like a muscular problem so hopefully that’s nothing serious as he looked very assured and comfortable despite being out of his natural position. Kai Havertz came on and prodded home the fifth, as we also saw first team debuts for centre back Maldini Kaccuri (now that is a proper name) and forward, Ismael Kabia, who scored the winner for the U21s at Leyton Orient a few weeks ago. Overall, six academy youngsters were given their full debuts. So much for Arteta not giving a chance to the yoof.
Both CER and I were surprised at the quality of football on display given the number of youngsters on the pitch. Some may have expected a more disjointed performance, but it was anything but. Hale End is clearly no teenage wasteland…
Preston North End away awaits us in the next round. The Invincibles Derby if you will. PNE are a division above Bolton so we may not see quite as many youngsters in that game but I’m sure we can make way for one or two. I would not be surprised if Nwaneri starts on Saturday or at least gets 20-25 mins. He was unsurprisingly the standout youngster, but it was more than just his goals which stood out. Physically he looked ready, his passing was crisp, his movement excellent. Leicester may be the ideal game to bring him into the Premier League fold proper. Let’s wait and see.
COYG!
Thanks 21CG – the integration of those youngsters, albeit against lower ranked opposition, was seamless and really heartening. Congratulations to Ethan Nwaneri on his goals but I thought the most encouraging thing about him was simply the way he played. He has been mentored by Martin Odegaard which was clear by the way he moved with the ball, avoided challenges, made good choices and found teammates with a range of passes.
If he stays injury free and grounded, as you would expect under Martin’s guidance, we have a player and he has a brilliant future.
A fine description of a fun evening CER. Love the various Who references – a band I saw three times!
Not a bad draw for the next round and an excellent one. Last time we went to Preston in 2017 we were there and we had the whole of one end, about 6k tickets. It should be a good one for credit hunters. Mind you, expect a late night. It’s a 190 mile journey from me in Cambs and well over 200 from London.
Sorry not CER, but the lad himself 21CG!
That was a quick one, 21CG.
Excellent and very fair report 21CG and Thankyou for stepping in at short notice .I enjoyed a pleasant evening on the sofa , looking at Pictures of Lily and not having to queue in the rain for the tube!
I’d take one point of issue. Young Porter was hung out to dry ( not really the right phrase for last night ) by us pouring forward ( that’s better ) . Jorginho looked like someone who might struggle in the Dad’s race for My Generation on Sports Day in chasing Collins and he took the goal well . I Can’t Explain if Raya might have done better but once in the area Collins was favourite to score .Overall Porter ended the night a Happy Jack .I would not Substitute him for another guy although Tommy ( Setford) must have a chance . I thought Nwaneri was a Pinball Wizard and hugely impressive. I can trump C100 in that I have met Roger Daltrey twice – about forty years apart . The last meeting was at the Emirates .He called me an old git as he signed my shirt but he smiled as he did it
Beautiful night under the lights for a game of football at the Emirates last night. Good crowd and fine atmosphere – Bolton’s wandering fans did their best to add a raucous contribution. It was a great pleasure to witness so many of Hale End’s finest in action. I thought each and every one acquitted himself well. Concerningly, however, there was absolutely no evidence whatsoever that a single one of the scholars has been adequately schooled in even the basics of the ‘Dark Arts’. Given that excellence in those very arts is a fundamental prerequisite and performance criterion for first team success, sadly it’s likely that few, if any, will make the transition. Most unfortunate.
Women’s team turn around a1-0 deficit in first leg to win 4-1 on aggregate and go through to CL group stage! Top stuff!
My daughter threatening to take me to a WSL game at the Emirates. Bring it on!
Good stuff 21CG. An enjoyable account of an enjoyable performance with a 16 year old goalie to boot. Who’da thunk it? It’s as well that the game didn’t go to extra time given it was a school night. The only blemish to my evening (watching on the Sky Go App on my iPhone) were the two moronic muppets Sky dug up to do the commentary. It was like a comedy skit illustrating the ignorance of so-called experts but a comic skit is funny because it lasts 3-5 minutes. This obviously lasted somewhat longer and yes, I should have turned the sound off.
Sky scan the back pages of tomorrow’s papers every evening with two journalists . Shebahn Aherne of TalkSport and Jonathan Liew of the Guardian ( much loved by many of us!) . They quoted Roy Keane effectively saying Arsenal play kick and rush football and Arsenal had limited horizons . Aherne thought the controversy was amusing but Liew when asked said ‘ I watched Roy Keane’s Ipswich- now there was a team with limited horizons! The trouble with a lot of people in football is that they are genuinely scared that Arsenal will win the league . They are running scared of them and there’s a campaign to run them down .’ Jonathan is a Gooner and he showed his colours !
Thursday night – 8.35 kick off at the Toilet Bowl on a cold, damp night against Azerbaijan’s finest . It underlined there is only one place to be in Europe .
I didn’t watch much of the game but was fed snippets by C100 but the football was truly terrible tgat I saw and although the Spuds won 3-0 with ten men they looked like conceding all night . A proper European side with a counter press and quick transitions will eat them for breakfast
thanks 21cg. and hi everyone. it’s been a bit.
didn’t get to watch it very closely, but i liked what i saw of the young guns. i had the pleasure of seeing them in action this summer, and they were every bit as developed. mls is a treat to watch, there is a vision to his game as shown by the pass to sterling that i haven’t seen in a lot of left backs…but if you watch the hale end series luis brown (now defending for the hammers u21 team) calls mls “our best” because he can play anywhere. nwaneri is already copying mø in the turn and push the ball a meter move, making space almost any time he wants. his low center of gravity will win him a lot of duels. and he’s seemingly really smart with his decision-making. josh nichols is my favorite of the three, if only because he’s tiny, and damn fast. and doesn’t give up.
i started rewatching the inside hale end series, and they’re all in there, as well as maldini and rojas. i am so proud of our academy, and per for guiding it recently to the benefit of the first team (and other first teams, viz hammers, everton with hutchinson, and others who have moved on).
looking forward to the lesta game this saturday. a bit of an early start (i have to leave the house at 6 am to get to the bar), but i think ethan will get his full debut…with rice and merino also getting nods in midfield. that way partey gets a rest. naturally ma8 will start the same team as against city. 🙂
TTG@5: I hadn’t marked you down as a mod. I hope you were wearing your Zoot suit when you met Daltrey. But did you ever see The Who when they were still the High Numbers?
If Porter is ever caught in another breakaway like Collins’s, he won’t get fooled again.
Great win for the Women’s team over Hacken. A proper whackin’. Is this the year for a CL double?
Thanks 21CG, much appreciate the report on what sounds like a very enjoyable evening.
It’s great that players like MLS and Nwaneri are coming along now that we have had to say reluctant goodbyes to Eddie, ESR and most likely Reiss.
Good to see you in the bar scruz, a drink on the counter for you sir.
cheers matt. back atcha, and double!
Ned,
Touché!
My first meeting with Daltrey came after they played Streatham Locarno in 1968. It was in the Horse and Groom pub and he was flicking ash at people .I was 16 so nursed my half of light ale very carefully .
The second time was in 2009. The Gooner treated the main writers to a table at a charity do to support Willow and the Children’s Cancer Trust at the stadium . Bob , Lee Dixon and Rog were the speakers. It was to celebrate twenty years since Anfield 1989 . Rog and I were besties now (😀) and converged at the door to the loo. I regaled him with the story of our first meeting ( but not the ash flicking ) . He said’ Now I’m an old git my life consists of other old gits like you coming up and telling me where they met me in the past . I wish I’d behaved better .
I still have the Anfield souvenir shirt he signed .
Behind Blue Eyes he could see The Real Me although he did say ‘ Who are you’?. We looked out over the Emirates and he said I can see for Miles . At the end we were keen to Join Together to celebrate Mickey Thomas !
It seems Woj, once of this parish, has come out of retirement to glove butler for Barcelona.
With young Jack Porter in goal, ’tis a pity we still don’t have Mark McGuinness on our books. He’s plying his trade for Luton these days.
Scruz
Good to see you. Hope you and yours are ok. Re your enquiry Merino is ruled out tomorrow but may be fit next week. Timber and White look likely to be fit but Raya’s participation is in the balance .
U4G@18: We’d need to sign the Hansa Rostock prospect Darian Beer and Red Bull Leipzig’s Xaver Schlager, too.
TTG, I met Rog (! Pretentious, Moi?) at the arcade on Southend pier. I can confirm he sure plays a mean pinball. Quite the wizard, actually 😉
I did ask him though if he’d ever played Streatham Locarno and he said he didn’t even know what division they were in ….. 😳
Thanks for your excellent report 21cg on a refreshing and rejuvenating encounter involving my generation many times removed. Like a magic bus for time travel, even. Cheers for all The Who references too. 😄
Rare footage of the Streatham Locarno in the Sixties. Sadly, it doesn’t seem to have a soundtrack. I couldn’t pick out TTG, but presumably, the rush of teenage girls from their seats (about four minutes into the video) marked his arrival.
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