[Player Ratings] WBA 1-1 Arsenal: Young Guns Hold Nerve To Win Shoot-Out

Arsenal progressed to the fourth round of the Capital One Cup with a penalty shoot-out victory over West Brom on Wednesday night after the game had finished 1-1. Here, GoonerMac gives his ratings for the game.

It wasn’t pretty at times but we dug deep and came away from the Hawthorns still in the Cup and that’s all that matters on nights like these. Here are my ratings from the game.

Fabianski 7/10

Solid in goal. Made two or three fine stops and came quickly off his line to deny West Brom on a couple of occasions. Not the hero in the shoot-out as the spot kicks were send wide of goal but we’ll give him credit for putting the players off!

Monreal 7/10

Showed real composure to step up and score the decisive penalty. Recovered from an early knock to have a fine game at left-back during the 120 minutes as well.

Mertesacker 7.5/10

Was on hand to deny the hosts two clear goals, the second was deep into extra time when he made a last ditch clearance off the line to prevent West Brom going 2-1 ahead. May have been at fault for their goal though, but excellent display from the German otherwise.

Vermaelen 7/10

Steady from our ‘captain’ on his return to the first team. He looked a little rusty at times which is to be expected, this was his first start of the season after-all. Booked for a late lunge in the second half.

Jenkinson 7.5/10

One of the best Arsenal display’s on the night. He was always a threat going forward with him bombing down the right wing all evening. A few dangerous crosses almost led to goals and he was solid at the back as well.

Arteta 6.5/10

Started the game poorly but settled into it before tiring near the end. A decent comeback but I don’t think he should be replacing Flamini or Ramsey in the first team just yet, but he got some much-needed playing time which is the most important thing.

Hayden 6/10

Gave away possession cheaply a few times early on but you’d forgive the young man for that as he was making his first team debut. Lucky not to receive a straight red for a poor tackle on Mulumbu but always showed for the ball and got himself about the pitch.

Eisfeld 6.5/10

Barely touched the ball before he opened the scoring with a lovely finish. As he received the ball from Bendtner, his first touch was perfect and the finish superb. He was knocked off the ball quite a bit though so he’ll need to toughen up before he’s ready for the first team on a regular basis.

Gnabry 5/10

Disappointing display. He saw quite a lot of the ball but nothing came off for him, but at least he was trying to make things happen. One nice pass put Bendtner clean through on goal in extra time, but he then missed his penalty.

Ryo 6/10

Tried to use his pace to good effect and sent in a few dangerous crosses, but like Gnabry not much went his way last night. His work rate was excellent though.

Bendtner 5.5/10

Difficult night for the Dane. His first game for Arsenal in two years and he hasn’t had a pre-season, so we’ll have to go easy on him. He worked hard – well as hard as his fitness would allow – but amassed zero shots at goal during the 120 minutes. He missed a glorious chance to win it but failed to even get a shot off when put clean through. He scored his penalty and got the assist, but there is still plenty of work to be done before he’s ready to challenge Giroud.

Subs:

Akpom – 6.5/10 – Lively when he came on and showed real guts to score his penalty.

Bellerin – 6/10 – Had the confidence to take a couple of shots from the edge of the box, but neither really tested the keeper.

Olsson – 6/10 – Also scored his penalty in the shoot-out.

Not our most cohesive performance of the season but we should be delighted at coming away still in the Cup after putting out such a weakened side – particularly in the attacking third. The youngsters did us proud and got some valuable first team experience which will only aid their development.

Chelsea next in the fourth round and you get the feeling we’ll have to up our game to beat our London rivals.

What were your player ratings from the game? Leave your suggestions below.