Young 'Gunners' too much for Blackpool

Young midfielder Joe Willock will rightly take the headlines, after his brace saw the Premier League side take a comfortable lead into the interval, but the added contribution of Alex Iwobi should also be noted, as the Nigerian was among a handful of other youngsters to impress on the evening.

Arsenal were quick out of the traps;striker Eddie Nketiah will walk away from tonight's game wondering why he did not at least add one goal to the score sheet, as he could easily have had a hat trick before half time. He thrice spurned golden opportunities, before Willock reacted first in the penalty area, to nod home into the empty net from a deflected Aaron Ramsey free kick. 

Blackpool reacted well to the set back. They seemed determined to match their opponents, at least in terms of effort, on the night, and caused havoc on numerous occasions during the half. The hosts had the most joy when they fired crosses into the box. The makeshift Arsenal back line, further dented by the loss of veteran Laurent Koscielny before kick off, seemed bamboozled by the aerial threat that their opponent's posed.

Unfortunately, Blackpool lacked the nouse to utilise this avenue more. Instead, they tried to play the ball through the Arsenal lines, which was a more comfortable threat for their guests to deal with.

The superior quality of the Premier League side, albeit even if they fielded four academy prospects from the start, paid dividends on the score sheet. Once more, the midfielder Willock reacted the fastest to pounce on a loose ball at the back post to double his and Arsenal's tally for the evening just before the interval. 

And so, Unai Emery's side went into the break two goals up. 

 

January 5, 2019

Having been punished on two occasions in the first half, League One side Blackpool came out with a point to prove in the second period. They looked far from their third tier status on the evening, with Delfouneso, Taylor and Gnanduillet keeping the Arsenal back line occupied. More pressing for the seaside club will be the matters off the field; protests against the continued ownership of Owen Oyston before and during the match, saw home attendance figures remain rather meak. Nevertheless, the few thousand fans that did attend would have been proud at the effort showed by the players on the pitch.

The 'Seasiders' again made a number of chances in the second half. But a few strong saves from Petr Cech in the Arsenal goal, coupled with poor finishing, ultimately caused the side's own downfall. 

Alex Iwobi would add the finsihing touch to the result for Arsenal; he tapped home from a seemingly offside position five minutes from time. He was the first to react to the rebound from an Aaron Ramsey shot, and had the simplest of tasks to slot into an empty net for the 'Gunners' third. 

All in all, like many Cup ties between teams on opposite ends of the football league spectrum, Premier League Arsenal had far too much quality for League One Blackpool. Thus, Unai Emery's side advance to the fourth round, and continue their pursuit for a 14th FA Cup in the club's history.

 

January 5, 2019