Arsenal reach quarter-finals of the 2024/25 League Cup

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Following Southampton and Brentford’s advancement to the quarterfinals of the Carabao Cup on Tuesday, six additional teams secured their spots after Wednesday’s matches. Arsenal claimed a comfortable victory over Preston North End, while Tottenham eliminated Premier League defending champions Manchester City with a 2-1 win at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Manchester United showed their class against Leicester in a 5-2 diaplay to mark the new post-Erik Ten Hag era. Chelsea, on the other hand, was edged out by Newcastle in revenge for their loss in the Premier League game over the weekend.

The Gunners are back to winning ways after a grueling draw against fellow title contenders Liverpool over the weekend. Arteta tested multiple players ahead of the weekend and next week’s Champions League clash against Inter Milan, giving a debut to 18-year-old goalkeeper Tommy Setford along with seven other changes to the starting line-up with Liverpool. Oleksandr Zinchenko was in the starting eleven. It was his first game since the calf injury he picked up in August. Jurrien Timber was also a refreshing sight for the Gunners after the Englishman was forced off the game against Liverpool. The home side came fully armored and fresh from draws with Norwich City and Plymouth Argyle in the championship.

Gabriel Jesus, Ethan Nwaneri, and Kai Havertz were on target as Arsenal beat Preston NorthEnd 3-0 away from home on Wednesday 30 October 2024. 17-year-old Ethan Nwaneri has previously scored his first set of Arsenal goals with a brace in the 5-1 victory against Bolton in the last Round. The new first-team inductee bent a fine shot into the net to put the Gunners two goals up after Gabriel Jesus had opened the scoring with his first goal in the 2024/25 season. German forward Kai Harvertz came in as a substitute to seal Arsenal’s win twelve minutes into the second half.

It’s been two years since Nwaneri became the Premier League’s youngest debutant at 15 and 181 days. He has since been showing his class whenever Mikel Arteta calls upon him. The English international came in as a late substitute against Liverpool and played 80 minutes at the League Cup game, solidifying Arteta’s claim that he has transitioned from an academy standout to a regular in his squad.

Arsenal took the lead in the 24th minute after Nwaneri blasted a clear goal-scoring opportunity from Raheem Sterling’s pass. The goal like the last pool of Arsenal goals came from a set piece. Gabriel Martinelli’s free-kick floated in the direction of Jakub Kiwor who headed back to Gabriel Jesus to lash home on the volley. A few minutes later, Nwaneri was wasteful again when he failed to strike home an unselfish play-in by Mikel Merino. He made up for the miss before halftime from a much harder opportunity, rolling away from the defense and bending a great shot into the top left corner of the Preston net. A fine shot that left Preston goal-stopper Freddie Woodman helpless.

At halftime, Kai Harvertz and Thomas Partey were brought in for Merino and Timber. The German forward made an impact eleven minutes in, heading Kiwor’s brilliant cross past the Preston goalkeeper for his seventh goal of the season. Freddie Woodman would not let any more goals cross his post as he denied Jesus and Sterling with a double-reflex save after the hour mark. The home team almost made a mess of the scoreline themselves from the resulting corner. Brad Potts was in the right space to clear off Stefan Thordson’s attempt on clearance, which was heading towards his net. Nwaneri was unlucky again to score back-to-back braces when he hit the crossbar in the 76th minute.

Arsenal weren’t really pressured by the home side, they showed their class and maintained the tempo of the game throughout the match. Setford, however, got his first real save in the game when he clawed out a dipping shot from Jeppe Okkels. Emil Rils got the final opportunity to put smiles on the faces of the home fans with a goal but squandered the chance with a clumsy header from Mads Frokjaer’s cross six minutes to full-time. While the Preston fans waited to hear the full-time whistle, they were lucky and thankful to Brad Potts for another goal-line clearance, this time from Raheem Sterling’s effort.

Preston North End has now played more games in the competition (185) without making it to the quarterfinals. It is a sad report for a championship side that plays so well in maintaining participation in the tournament. Arsenal advanced to the quarter-finals after the full-time whistle. It was a remarkable display for Mikel Arteta’s team who keeps the dream of a possible quadruple alive. Ethan Nwaneri’s performance was the highlight of the game and Mikel Arteta would look towards starting the youngster more to create competition and improve the results from his team.

The Gunners have won the Carabao Cup only twice in their history, which can be dated back to 1987 and 1993. In 2019 and 2020, Arsenal fell short of victories in consecutive finals against Machester City. But this wasn’t their only defeat at the finals of the competition. They have lost finals to Leeds United in 1968, Swindon in 1969, Luton Town in 1988, Chelsea in 2007, and Birmingham City in 2011. With two of the four most successful clubs in the tournament out (Manchester City and Aston), and regular finalists Chelsea also not in the equation, there is a higher chance that the Gunners will make it to the final stages if they keep their winning streak and player discipline up.

The draw for the 2024/25 League Cup quarterfinals is ready. Arsenal will face Crystal Palace at the Emirates on Tuesday, November 17th, 2024. Southampton drew defending champions Liverpool, Newcastle will face Brentford and Manchester United will travel to North London to face Spurs.

In their next couple of games before the Carabao challenge against the Eagles, Arsenal would face:

Newcastle United (A), Premier League, Saturday 2nd November, 12:30  

Inter Milan (A), UEFA Champions League, Wednesday 6th November, 20:00  

Chelsea (A), Premier League, Sunday 10th November, 16:30 

Nottingham Forest (H), Premier League, Saturday 23rd November, 15:00  

Sporting Lisbon (A), UEFA Champions League, Tuesday 26th November, 20:00  

West Ham United (A), Premier League, Saturday 30th November, 17:30  

Manchester United (H), Premier League, Wednesday 4th December, 20:15  

Fulham (A), Premier League, Sunday 8th December, 14:00 

Monaco (H), UEFA Champions League, Wednesday 11th December, 20:00

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Arsenal’s upcoming matches will be too decisive in their pursuit to become a European powerhouse once again. Their long wait for the Premier League title has spanned two decades and they are vying to claim the title this season after losing it with few points in the last two seasons. Mikel Arteta has done a wonderful job in putting this wonderful team together and fans worldwide can’t wait to see what they will achieve together. They still face huge challenges of claiming the Premier League title this season while putting on strong competition at the European stage. Be part of the supporting train by getting tickets to Arsenal games and cheering our boys on to victory!

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