Arsenal analysis: Danny Welbeck makes his case as Emile Smith Rowe shows promise

AFP/Getty Images
James Benge26 September 2018

Arsenal overcame a spirited second half fightback from Brentford to book their place in the EFL Cup fourth round with a 3-1 win at the Emirates Stadium.

A first-half brace from Danny Welbeck seemed to have put Arsenal on course for a commanding victory over Championship opponents but, attacking their 9,000 travelling fans in the second half, the Bees battled back, halving the deficit through Alan Judge’s brilliant free-kick just before the hour.

Unai Emery’s side briefly wobbled but the introduction of anchorman Lucas Torreira helped ease the pressure on Arsenal’s at times fragile backline before substitute Alexandre Lacazette secured the victory in added time.

James Benge assesses the key talking points at the Emirates...

Welbeck makes a convincing case to Emery

Getty Images

With four goals to his name this season Danny Welbeck has now moved level with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as Arsenal’s highest goalscorer this season. More significantly he is nearly halfway to his best goal return in a season - 10 last term - during his injury-plagued Arsenal career.

A generally meagre goal return of less than one goal every four games has often been the stick used to beat Welbeck but it distracts from his other contributions to the team cause, many of which Emery could use in his strongest side.

Welbeck got his first goal with a powerful leap to divert Matteo Guendouzi’s cross beyond Luke Daniels. Such an aerial presence is not usually provided by Aubameyang or Alexandre Lacazette, neither of whom are as energetic in their defensive duties as Welbeck.

The England international has long been valued for his defensive work as much as his contribution at the other end and it paid dividends tonight as he snapped at the heels of Ezri Konsa and Julian Jenvier, winning possession high up the pitch to allow Arsenal to counter. That was helpful against Brentford but when the opposition is Liverpool or Manchester City such industry could be indispensable.

With a year to go on his Arsenal contract every game feels decisive for a player who turns 28 in two months. If he sees his future at the Emirates Stadium he can at least rest assured that he is doing all that he can to convince his manager he deserves a regular role.

Inconsistent Leno yet to usurp Cech

Leno unlucky to concede twice on his debut.
Getty

A £19million investment he may be but it appears Bernd Leno still has some work to do in convincing Emery he is a better option than Petr Cech. Certainly a clumsy piece of close control in the first minute that saw the ball slip over his ankle was not what one would expect of a goalkeeper coveted for his footwork.

But the quality that convinced Arsenal he was the goalkeeper they wanted for the long-term was evident in much better distribution during the second half, particularly a smart pass wide to the right that began the build-up for the Gunners’ second.

There was little Leno could do about Judge’s free-kick that halved Brentford’s deficit and every other shot that came his way was dealt with albeit without the one outstanding contribution that might have given the German a chance to usurp Cech on Saturday.

Smith Rowe thrives in supporting cast

If the EFL Cup was once about throwing the youngsters in at the deep end for Arsenal that has changed beyond all recognition. Eight of tonight’s starting XI were senior internationals, with Matteo Guendouzi and Emile Smith Rowe the only players in Emery’s side who might be termed inexperienced.

Smith Rowe’s full debut continued a remarkable rise for the 18-year-old, who starred in the Gunners’ run to the FA Youth Cup Final after being moved from a wide role to the No.10 through whom Kwame Ampadu’s side played.

Unsurprisingly such a prominent role was not available for him alongside Henrikh Mkhitaryan and the fast-improving Alex Iwobi but that may have aided Smith Rowe, who was able to flit around the peripheries of the game waiting to make a contribution in the final third.

It very nearly came after only seven minutes when the youngster scorched away from the Brentford defence to claim Mohamed Elneny’s ball over the top only for Julian Jeanvier to get back win time to block his effort.

Smith Rowe would not have another chance quite that promising but as he made his way off after 63 minutes he could reflect on another encouraging display, filled with creativity and pace, even if he was unable to make a major impact.

Much-changed Brentford prove their worth

Dean Smith had rested eight of his players from Saturday’s defeat to Derby, with getting into the Premier League of far greater significance than a first meeting since 1947 with one of the top flight’s big beasts. For a side currently in seventh and just a point off the playoffs that is a perfectly understandable approach, not least when they have been knocking on the door for as long as Brentford have.

This remained a side very capable of causing problems for Arsenal and in particular Shkodran Mustafi, who was sent flying to the deck when he couldn’t deal with the pace and verve of Ollie Watkins just before Welbeck’s second. Smith may well be entitled to wonder what might have happened if Rob Holding hadn’t got back in time to block the subsequent shot.

Brentford were determined to play in the style that won them so many admirers in the Championship and though it was easy on the eye there were moments when you longed for more care, not least when the Bees won a corner. Almost without fail these seemed to be an invitation for Arsenal to hit them on the break through Mkhitaryan and Iwobi.

Judge’s magnificent free-kick brought the best out of the visitors, with Sergi Canos twice going close as 9,000 supporters roared the Bees on. It wasn’t quite to be but as Brentford return to the pressing matter of promotion they can be assured that this side could well make an impact on England’s top tier.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in