Five goals, four debuts and job very well done for Arsenal.
The Gunners made light work of Bolton as they booked a place in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup.
After a hectic 10 days or so, which has included trips to Atalanta, Manchester City and Tottenham, this was probably just what Mikel Arteta wanted.
It was a stress-free evening at Emirates Stadium for Arsenal as they cruised past Bolton with ease.
Simon Collings was at Emirates Stadium to see Arsenal in action…
Nwaneri shows what all the fuss is about
There has been a buzz at Arsenal about Ethan Nwaneri for years.
Everyone has known about the talented teenager coming through the club’s academy and what the future may hold for him.
Handed his first start, Nwaneri showed just why he is so highly regarded and how the future looks very bright for him.
Arteta handed four teenagers starts for this Carabao Cup clash, but it was Nwaneri who shone brightest of all during a thumping 5-1 win.
The 17-year-old scored twice, once in each half, and the biggest compliment you could pay him is that he did not look out of place.
The midfielder’s touch was so sharp and physically too he could hold his own against a combative Bolton.
Nwaneri’s first goal was thanks largely to his fellow academy graduate, Myles Lewis-Skelly, who played in Raheem Sterling down the left. The winger fizzed a cross in and Nwaneri was there to slide home and score.
His second was even more of a gift, with Declan Rice capitalising on some sloppy passing from Bolton. It set Nwaneri clean through and he made no mistake to wrap up a memorable night.
Sterling seizes his chance to shine
All eyes were on Arsenal’s young players, but for Raheem Sterling this was an important night, too.
Before it, the winger had made a steady start to life at Arsenal after coming off the bench in games against Atalanta and Tottenham.
Sterling was handed the chance he has been craving tonight, though, as he was given his first start for Arsenal.
The winger grew into the game and he setup Nwaneri’s first goal just before half-time with a great cross in from the left.
Sterling naturally looked a tad rusty in the early stages, which was no surprise given he was frozen out by Chelsea, but come the second-half he was in full flow.
He acted quickly to tap home Bukayo Saka’s saved cross and the goal capped off a fine night’s work for him.
Porter makes history
It will no doubt be a pub quiz question in years to come: who is the youngest player to ever start a game for Arsenal?
Depending how Jack Porter’s career goes, it will either be an easy one for people to reel off or one that has people scrambling for their phones under the table.
Either way, the goalkeeper made history tonight as he made his Arsenal debut at the age of just 16 years and 72 days.
The previous record was a certain Cesc Fabregas, who also made his debut in the League Cup, but at the age of 16 years and 177 days.
Porter was handed his debut given Arsenal faced a real shortage of goalkeepers. No1 David Raya was out with a thigh injury, backup Neto was cup tied and No3 Tommy Setford had a hip issue.
Arteta chose to turn to Porter and he had a steady night, thanks in part to the experienced centre-back pairing of Jakub Kiwior and Riccardo Calafiori in front of him.
He could do little about the Bolton goal, with Aaron Collins having the freedom of the Arsenal half to carry the ball before rounding Porter.
