Carabao Cup: West Brom 0 Arsenal 6 - Report

Valerien Ismael made clear earlier in the week the Carabao Cup was at the bottom of his priority list and the outcome of this second round tie was predictable from the moment he named a team including several players tasting senior football for the first time.

Albion’s patchwork XI battled hard against the Gunners first-string. Were it not for some sharp saves from Aaron Ramsdale, they would have scored at least one goal. For the first 30 minutes, they could claim to have given as good as they got.

Yet their mistakes were ruthlessly punished and as anticipated this eventually became a question of how many Arsenal would score.

They finished with six, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang netting a hat-trick, while Nicolas Pepe, Bukayo Saka and Alexandre Lacazette were also on the mark.

This was the Gunners first win of the season and much required yet it felt somewhat hollow. Quite what Albion gained from the experience is open to question.

Once upon a time a manager making 11 changes to his team for a cup game would have prompted anger. These days dissenting are far fewer. The shame here was not seeing how Albion’s first XI might have fared against an Arsenal team who arrived at The Hawthorns with confidence brittle.

Albion’s team must have ranked among the youngest ever fielded in a first-team game, with seven players aged 20 or under. Originally, there would have only been five debutants but Rayhaan Tulloch was injured in the warm-up, giving Taylor Gardner-Hickman the chance to impress from the start. Arsenal’s XI featured eight full internationals along with new signing Ramsdale starting in goal.

Perhaps the biggest interest from a Baggies perspective came in the performance of those senior players included to help the youngsters through the night, with Ismael having spoken prior to the match of the need to gauge the true strength of his squad.

On that note, Robert Snodgrass played more than 70 minutes in his first appearance since March, while Kenneth Zohore rather underlined the fact he is not the answer up front. New arrival Jordan Hugill watched from the stands.

Quevin Castro, meanwhile, showcased both the good and bad. The 19-year-old wasted no time in making his presence felt, picking up a booking inside the opening 60 seconds for a sliding challenge on Odegaard.

Albion were busy in the opening exchanges and Arsenal nervous, Zohore causing a scare when he almost beat Ramsdale to a lazily struck backpass.

When Tom Fellows chopped his way into the box, the noise levels rose yet the 18-year-old was unable to make clean contact. Moments later Adam Reach did rather better, bending an effort from the edge of the area which Ramsdale was forced to tip round the post. The visitors promptly fell asleep at the corner, allowing Reach another strike at goal, this time pulled wide of the target.

The Baggies were on top but then suddenly behind. Castro missed his kick as he looked to clear and though Alex Palmer got down quickly to parry Saka’s low effort, the ball fell straight to Aubameyang to tap home.

Mistakes remained rare in Albion’s backline but when they did occur were punished ruthlessly. Martin Odegaard should have doubled the Gunners’ lead when the ball fell to him following a scramble but he somehow hit the post from just six yards out.

Arsenal remained shaky, Sead Kolasinac diving in and picking up a booking for bringing down Ingram.

Snodgrass was unable to make anything of the free-kick however in the space of two minutes just before the break the tone of the evening changed.

First, Aubameyang made it 2-0 when he tapped home again after Pepe’s shot had struck the post and rolled right into his path. Barely 60 seconds later, Albion’s high line was exposed again, this time Aubameyang the provider, hooking the ball into the path of a grateful Pepe after Palmer had managed to block his attempted chip.

The dam was well and truly broken. Five minutes into the second half, Saka made it four, slotting home after a neat exchange with Odegaard.

Albion, to their credit, rallied. Zohore brought a sharp save from Ramsdale with a header after Fellows saw a shot blocked. The Gunners keeper then saved with his legs after Gardner-Hickman burst through two challenges and fired low at goal.

Yet it was Arsenal and in particular Aubameyang who remained clinical. The striker’s first two goals might have been tap-ins but his hat-trick strike was a beauty, curled into the top corner after being found by former Albion loanee Ainsley Maitland-Niles.

Pepe then hit the bar before setting up substitute Alexandre Lacazette to thump home the sixth. More than 20 minutes still remained at that point and the threat of a real humiliation felt very real but Albion’s kids dug deep to avoid further punishment.

Teams

Albion (3-4-3): Palmer, Shotton, Kipre, Taylor, Ingram, Snodgrass (King 73), Castro, Reach, Fellows, Zohore (Faal 64), Gardner-Hickman Subs not used: Delaney, Richards, Malcolm, Cann (gk).

Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Ramsdale, Kolasinac, Holding, Chambers, Tavares, Xhaka (Lacazette 66), Elneny, Pepe, Odegaard (Maitland-Niles 61), Saka, Aubameyang (Martinelli 76) Subs not used: Smith Rowe, Mari, Lokonga, Leno (gk).