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[Ratings & goals] Arsenal 5-0 Forest: Martinelli & Tierney shine for Gunners
Arsenal’s young guns produced a five-star performance as we eased into the fourth round of the Carabao Cup with a 5-0 win over Nottingham Forest on Tuesday night.
It was a positive start from Arsenal and we broke the deadlock midway through the first half when Joe Willock found Calum Chambers on the right and the defender sent in a superb volley which was headed home by Gabriel Martinelli in the 30th minute.
We had to wait until the 71st minute to double our lead but it was worth the wait as Rob Holding powered home a header from a corner to make it 2-0 to cap a dream return from a knee ligament injury.
Hector Bellerin then grabbed an assist just minutes after coming off the bench to make his return from nine months on the sidelines as he teed-up Joe Willock to make it 3-0 and book Arsenal’s place in the fourth round.
Nelson made it 4-0 before Martinelli scored his second of the game with a deflected effort to secure an impressive 5-0 win and book our place in the fifth round of the League Cup.
Here are my ratings:
Martinez 5/10 | Virtually nothing to do other than a few routine takes from crosses.
Chambers 8/10 | Looked sharp. Superb volleyed cross to set up Martinelli for the opener and picked up another two assists in the second half. Should be ahead of Maitland-Niles now.
Mustafi 6.5/10 | A comfortable enough evening for Mustafi, which is a rarity!
Holding 7.5/10 | Great to see him back and he was excellent. Solid at the back and made it 2-0 with a header seconds after taking the captains armband. Calm presence at the back, which has been sorely missed.
Tierney 8/10 | Very impressive debut. Never stopped running down the left flank and put in some wonderful crosses. Lovely play to set-up Ozil midway through the first half and another cross found Smith Rowe who’s header was well saved. Subbed after 76 minutes but has to be in the frame to start against Man Utd.
Willock 8/10 | Another excellent performance. Played his part in the opener as he found Chambers with a lovely cross-field pass. Missed a great chance to make it 2-0 when he headed wide but got his goal in the end with a simple tap in.
Torreira 7/10 | A quiet and efficient performance. Kept things simple, protected the back four and controlled things with ease.
Nelson 7.5/10 | It looked like it would be another frustrating night for Nelson but he actually improved during the closing stages and got a morale-boosting goal. Should do his confidence the world of good.
Ozil 7/10 | Was over shadowed by the young guns but still played his part. Always on the ball and keeping the attacks flowing. Played some nice passes and always available. Subbed with 20 to go.
Smith Rowe 6/10 | Always keen to get involved and went close to scoring after seeing a header well saved. Sadly he injured himself in the process with a nasty clash of heads so had to be stretchered off just before half time.
Martinelli 8/10 | Brave header to open the scoring and deserved his goal for all his hard work up front. Never stopped working and harassing the defenders. Scored another late on with a deflected effort from outside the box. Terrific performance.
Subs:
Saka 7/10 | Lovely work to dig out a cross for Willock who should have made it 2-0. Seemed to enjoy combining with Tierney.
Ceballos 6/10 | A fairly average cameo from the Spaniard.
Bellerin 6.5/10 | Grabbed as assist within a minute of coming on. Great to see him back, he’s going to make a huge difference to our team.
Watch the goals from the game: