This competition may be somewhere down Mikel Arteta’s priority list but that doesn’t mean the Arsenal manager doesn’t value it. On a night when the fourth-choice goalkeeper Jack Porter became the youngest player to start a game for Arsenal, at the age of just 16 years and 72 days, in the absence of the injured David Raya, it was Ethan Nwaneri who caught the eye as the 17‑year‑old scored twice on his full debut.
After the fallout from their tempestuous draw against Manchester City, Arsenal never really looked like being turned over against opponents who used to revel in giving Arsène Wenger’s sides a bloody nose back in the days of Sam Allardyce, as soon as Declan Rice had put them in front.
