Summer signing Lucas Perez scored his first goals for the club as Arsenal hammered Championship outfit Nottingham Forest 4-0 in the third round of the EFL Cup.
Granit Xhaka once again proved his excellent ability at shooting from distance before Perez added two in the second half, including one from the penalty spot to put the result beyond doubt. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain put the icing on the cake with a fine fourth for the Gunners in stoppage time.
Cup games against lower league opposition always have that element of being a potential banana skin about them but, fortunately, Arsenal had little trouble in getting the better of their opponents at the City Ground.
Prior to the match, the two sides had met twice before in the League Cup. Both encounters were won by Arsenal - in 1987 and 1993 - and on each of those occasions the Gunners went on to win the trophy...let's hope this is a good omen!
The game started a lot like my luck at finding a decent online feed of it to watch...poorly!
Nottingham Forest wasted an opportunity to take an early lead when Patjim Kasami sliced a shot wide, while Chuba Akpom later saw his effort saved by Vladimir Stojkovic in the Forest goal.
Both sides gave former Forest manager and footballing legend Brian Clough a standing ovation in the 12th minute to mark the 12th anniversary of his death.
There was finally some match action to cheer about for the visiting supporters after 23 minutes when Xhaka netted Arsenal's 400th goal in the League Cup and what a goal it was! The Swiss midfielder, who scored a wonder goal in the recent victory at Hull, hit a great strike to beat Stojkovic from 35 yards albeit via a deflection.
Arsene Wenger's men continued to push forward, but were unable to add to their lead before the break as Jeff Reine-Adelaide shot just wide.
Before Arsenal new-boy Perez could take centre stage, former Gunner Nicklas Bendtner tried his luck on goal, but his effort sailed wide of the far post.
Perez grabbed the first of his two goals on the hour mark after Michael Mancienne fouled Akpom in the box, leaving the Spanish forward to calmly score from the spot. Perez showed further signs of his potential 11 minutes later as he beat Mancienne and the goalkeeper before slotting the ball into the empty net, although some may argue that the Forest defender should have done far better.
Perez was denied a hat-trick when his shot was comfortably saved by Stojkovic, but the Gunners would add one final goal before the end. A fine move ended with Oxlade-Chamberlain racing into the box and sending a low finish beyond Stojkovic to cap a great night for Wenger's men.
It may not have been a vintage Arsenal performance, but Perez is off the mark and we march on into the next round, so it's been a good evening!
OPPOSITION VIEW
Forest fan Rob Terrace admitted there was a clear gulf in class between the teams at the City Ground.
"Not a lot to say," said Terrace. "You could see the difference between the two sides.
"Had we taken our early chance, it may have been different, but any team that starts with £60m+ of talent on, is a very good team in my books.
"Xhaka was brilliant, as was Lucas, but the defence originally struggled under pressure. Lots for Wenger to learn from though."
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
You can only beat what's in front of you and, after last season's shock exit to Sheffield Wednesday, I am much happier with how we performed this time around.
Focus must quickly turn back to the Premier League and the visit of Chelsea. Chelsea is a side we have often struggled to get the better of in recent years and this really has got to change, especially if we want to be serious about mounting a serious title challenge. We need to make sure we improve our results against the so-called 'big' sides. We need to make home advantage count and we will need to produce one hell of a mammoth performance and I'll be getting behind the lads in the hope they can do just that.
As for the League Cup, I admit it isn't a competition I think that highly of, but I still want to see us progress as far as possible and hopefully lift the trophy, so let's hope for a good draw in the next round.
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
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