Arsenal 2 Blackpool 1: Emile Smith Rowe strikes as 10-man Gunners survive EFL Cup fright

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James Benge31 October 2018

Arsenal survived an almighty scare following Matteo Guendouzi’s red card to reach the EFL Cup quarter-finals with a 2-1 win over League One side Blackpool.

Goals from Stephan Lichtsteiner and Emile Smith Rowe seemed to have been enough to hand Emery’s side an uninspiring win, but a careless second yellow from young Frenchman Guendouzi gave Blackpool hope which only grew after they halved the deficit on 66 minutes.

A second red, this time for Blackpool goalscorer Paudie O’Connor, meant Arsenal’s final moments were more serene than they had threatened to be but this was still a far from impressive display by the hosts.

Though Emery was able to hand a debut to youth team stalwart Julio Pleguezuelo and a first appearance in 701 days to cult hero Carl Jenkinson, this was no cast of strangers. Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Aaron Ramsey were tasked with supporting Danny Welbeck in attack while Petr Cech and Shkodran Mustafi added experience to the defence.

Still there was little in Arsenal’s early display to suggest those hardy few who had braved the Halloween cold were in for a treat. Mkhitaryan sliced in from the left and shot just wide but Blackpool looked at least their hosts’ equals.

In Pictures | EFL Cup | 31/10/2018

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Nathan Delfouneso, formerly of Aston Villa, proved to be something of a threat for a stitched-together Arsenal defence and might have opened the scoring when he wrong-footed Mustafi with an elegant drop of the shoulder. Luckily for the German, Lichtsteiner was back in time to snuff out what might have been a fine goal.

When the opener did come it was the sort of scrappy, unconvincing strike this game deserved. Guendouzi had delivered a lobbed pass over the top to great effect earlier in the match, with Aaron Ramsey having a header smartly blocked by a defender, but you couldn’t shake the sense he hadn’t necessarily been looking for Lichtsteiner when he tried to repeat the trick. The veteran right-back’s volley may not have been the sweetest but it was effective, leaving Mark Howard stranded in the Blackpool goal as it trickled over the line.

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Arsenal’s customary second-half upswing didn’t take long in coming. Jenkinson scampered down the left and drove into the box, his fierce cross-shot parried by the Tangerines goalkeeper into the path of Smith Rowe, who volleyed home.

All was going to plan before Guendouzi, so impressive in midfield, showed he still has much to learn at 19. Having already picked up one unnecessary booking in the first half, he did the same again on 57 minutes as he grasped ahold of Jordan Thompson’s shirt. One could empathise with the youngster after a borderline decision, but he had forced referee David Coote into making a decision.

Even so Arsenal looked no less dangerous in attack with 10 men in the second half than they had with 11 in the first, Mkhitaryan and Welbeck leading dangerous counters soon after Guendouzi’s exit. However even Lucas Torreira’s introduction couldn’t shore up a defence that soon allowed Blackpool to steal a lifeline.

Mustafi misjudged a looping corner into the box but O’Connor didn’t, heading powerfully past Petr Cech at close range. Momentarily it looked like Arsenal would concede another in humiliating fashion.

Cech, whose ball-playing ability has been under the microscope all season, attempted a Cruyff turn as Jay Spearing closed him down but could not evade the tackle. As the ball trickled towards goal - probably not with enough pace to go in - Delfouneso helped it on its way, but from an offside position. Arsenal blushes were spared.

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And as Blackpool’s hopes had been raised by a red card so they were dashed in the same fashion, a nasty tackle by O’Connor on substitute Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang evening up the numbers and effectively ending the contest.

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