West Brom 0-6 Arsenal: Aubameyang stars as Gunners secure first win of season

3 years ago 72

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Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's hat-trick helped Arsenal to a welcome first win of the season as they beat a young West Bromwich Albion side to reach the Carabao Cup third round.

Aubameyang marked his first start of the season with two first-half tap-ins and a curling finish after the break.

He also acrobatically set up Nicolas Pepe for the third, with Bukayo Saka slotting in the Gunners' fourth.

Alexandre Lacazette came off the bench to fire in his side's sixth.

The win could have been even bigger too, with Martin Odegaard hitting the outside of the post from a tight angle and Pepe striking the bar with a chip.

Best action and reaction from Wednesday's Carabao Cup second-round ties

West Brom had six debutants, five of them teenagers, but showed spirit to the end on what was a difficult night for them.

The Baggies, who have made a superb start to this season under new boss Valerian Ismael, pressed high, got the ball forward quickly and would have taken an early lead had goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale, on his Arsenal debut, not pushed Tom Fellows' whipped shot aside.

Even with the tie clearly decided they continued to carve out chances, with Taylor Gardner-Hickman twice denied by Ramsdale in the second half.

Ultimately, though, Arsenal were a class above, with the ruthless Aubameyang looking sharp after recovering from coronavirus.

He could hardly miss in scoring both of his first two goals, firstly following up Saka's saved shot to slot in before turning the ball in again after Pepe had hit the post.

His third was much harder to execute, but he did so with aplomb, curling in from 18 yards after cutting into the box.

With him among the goals again, Pepe and Saka opening their own accounts for the season and Lacazette adding to the competition up front, Gunners boss Mikel Arteta can be more optimistic about facing Manchester City in the Premier League this coming weekend.

Line-ups

West Brom

Formation 3-4-3

36Palmer
21Kipré
33TaylorSubstituted forRichardsat 82'minutes
31Shotton
34Ingram
32De CastroBooked at 2mins
23SnodgrassSubstituted forKingat 74'minutes
20Reach
41Fellows
9ZohoreSubstituted forFaalat 65'minutes
29Gardner-Hickman

Substitutes

30Richards
37Cann
38King
39Delaney
40Faal
42Malcolm

Arsenal

Formation 4-2-3-1

32Ramsdale
21Chambers
16HoldingBooked at 27mins
31KolasinacBooked at 39mins
20Tavares
25Elneny
34XhakaSubstituted forLacazetteat 67'minutes
19Pépé
8ØdegaardSubstituted forMaitland-Nilesat 61'minutes
7Saka
14AubameyangSubstituted forMartinelliat 76'minutes

Substitutes

1Leno
9Lacazette
10Smith Rowe
15Maitland-Niles
22Marí
23Sambi Lokonga
35Martinelli

Live Text

Match ends, West Bromwich Albion 0, Arsenal 6.
Second Half ends, West Bromwich Albion 0, Arsenal 6.
Offside, Arsenal. Sead Kolasinac tries a through ball, but Nicolas Pépé is caught offside.
Corner, Arsenal. Conceded by Adam Reach.
Foul by Nicolas Pépé (Arsenal).
Toby King (West Bromwich Albion) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Bukayo Saka (Arsenal) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Toby King (West Bromwich Albion).
Substitution, West Bromwich Albion. Rico Richards replaces Caleb Taylor because of an injury.
Attempt saved. Alexandre Lacazette (Arsenal) left footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom left corner.
Substitution, Arsenal. Gabriel Martinelli replaces Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Substitution, West Bromwich Albion. Toby King replaces Robert Snodgrass.
Attempt missed. Nuno Tavares (Arsenal) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the left. Assisted by Nicolas Pépé.
Attempt saved. Taylor Gardner-Hickman (West Bromwich Albion) right footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Mo Faal.
Goal! West Bromwich Albion 0, Arsenal 6. Alexandre Lacazette (Arsenal) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Nicolas Pépé.
Nuno Tavares (Arsenal) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Ethan Ingram (West Bromwich Albion).
Nicolas Pépé (Arsenal) hits the bar with a left footed shot from the centre of the box. Assisted by Alexandre Lacazette with a through ball.
Substitution, Arsenal. Alexandre Lacazette replaces Granit Xhaka.
Substitution, West Bromwich Albion. Mo Faal replaces Kenneth Zohore.