Arsenal set up a Carabao Cup quarter-final at home to Crystal Palace on a proud night for their academy as Ethan Nwaneri and Bukayo Saka’s goals secured a 2-0 win over Brighton.
Nwaneri tucked home from fellow Hale End graduate Myles Lewis-Skelly’s pass on a night when Max Dowman became the youngest starter in Arsenal’s history aged 15 and 302 days old.
Mikel Arteta also handed a first start to 17-year-old striker Andre Harriman-Annous, who had a hand in the second goal when his one-on-one effort was saved by Brighton’s Jason Steele and fell to academy talisman Saka to make the result safe.
The victory makes it eight consecutive wins and six consecutive clean sheets for Arsenal but it might have been a different story had the visitors taken their chances in the first half.
Georginio Rutter was denied by Kepa, one of 10 Arsenal changes on the night, and Stefanos Tzimas fired another big chance wide, with Jan Paul van Hecke and Charalampos Kostoulas also missing glaring opportunities from close range.
Brighton finished the game having had 18 shots, the most by any side against Arsenal since Manchester United on the opening day of the campaign, but it was the hosts who produced the cutting edge.
Nwaneri’s goal was well-worked as Merino released Lewis-Skelly with a smart backheel, and Saka’s emphatic finish, following a superb run by Jurrien Timber, put the result beyond doubt following his introduction for the impressive Dowman, who excelled even in a difficult first period for the home side.
Palace now await in the last eight as the Gunners chase a first piece of silverware under Arteta since their FA Cup win in 2020.
WATCH: Saka and Nwaneri’s goals
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Ethan Nwaneri swept Arsenal ahead against Brighton
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Bukayo Saka added a second goal for Arsenal
Analysis: Dowman and Harriman-Annous enjoy a night to savour
Dowman and Harriman-Annous could be seen walking around the pitch arm in arm after the final whistle, two academy team-mates and friends drinking it all in on a night to celebrate for everyone associated with the club’s Hale End academy.
Dowman provided more evidence of his huge talent as he became the youngest starter in the club’s history. He was arguably their best player before his withdrawal. His total of nine attempted dribbles was the highest by any Arsenal player in any game all season.
It was his fourth appearance of the season after cameos from the bench against Leeds, Liverpool and Port Vale but for Harriman-Annous it was all new. This was only the second time he had been included in a matchday squad, never mind a starting line-up.
He was isolated at times in the first half but there were glimpses of his potential in some of his link play and his role in the second goal gave him a moment to savour, even if it won’t go down as an assist. He pumped his fists to the fans behind the goal in celebration.
They were not the only ones from Hale End to make their mark on the game, of course, with Nwaneri and Lewis-Skelly combining for the first goal, Saka scoring the second and Eberechi Eze, another former academy player, also starting.
But they are the ones who will remember it most fondly. A momentous evening for them, and another reminder of the bright future being shaped by Arsenal at youth level.
Arteta delights at ‘special’ evening
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said in his press conference: “A very special evening, very happy for various reasons.
“Obviously, we are in the quarter-finals, and we won the game against a really tough opponent. We made 10 changes, we played players that never played together, yet we made two huge debuts for Max and Andre.
“That feeling of giving the opportunity to somebody and fulfilling a dream is unique, and I’m very happy that things turned out to be very positive, and we managed to win the game.”
Ethan Nwaneri celebrates after opening the scoring
On how Dowman reacted to being told he was starting: “A tiny smile, that’s what you get with him. For him everything is natural, for him everything is okay, it’s the way he plays.
“I think that’s the secret, that he doesn’t make a big fuss of it, he just does what he does best, which is to play football, to play football with a lot of courage and determination.
“Today again he’s shown some incredible skill, some capacity to run past players at that level in the Premier League at 15. It’s something definitely special.”
On Harriman-Annous: “Since pre-season when he was with us, I was very impressed with him. First of all his mentality, how much he wants it, that’s the first ingredient. He’s desperate to achieve his dream.
“I think he’s been very consistent, training with us and constantly giving us the option to pick him. Today I believe it was the right day for him, for the context, for the way he’s playing as well and he certainly proved that he’s got a chance.”
Hurzeler rues missed Brighton chances
Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler said in his press conference: “If we take all the chances, we’re in the next round.
“It’s about scoring and defending goals. We weren’t able to score and defend in the most important actions.
“It was the first shot on goal from Arsenal and we didn’t defend it well. If you don’t score goals and don’t keep the clean sheet, you can’t win.
“Every goal gives you confidence, but I don’t think it’s the reason we lost. We had good possibilities in the second half.
“We tried hard, we would love to score and it gives the team confidence. We weren’t able to do it and give the players the right support to do better the next time.”
