Arsenal have beaten Brighton and Hove Albion 2-0 in the EFL Cup to progress to the quarter-final of the competition, making it an entire month without conceding a single goal.
Mikel Arteta’s side have scored 12 goals in October in all competitions, conceding zero times and showing their steel to secure results.
Despite making 10 changes to the team who beat Crystal Palace 1-0 at the weekend, Arsenal held a 50% share of possession, taking 16 shots, creating two big chances and scoring twice.
In this article, we’ll cover
Arteta’s wholesale changes
The only Arsenal player to keep their spot from the Palace victory at the weekend was Eberechi Eze, starting on the left for the Gunners.
Myles Lewis-Skelly replaced Ricardo Calafiori, starting at left-back and providing rotations with Eze on the left to occupy both the width and the inside channel.
The rest of the backline was comprised with Kepa Arrizibalaga between the sticks, Ben White at right-back and a centre-back pairing of Cristhian Mosquera and Piero Hincapie.
A midfield three was comprised of Christian Nørgaard, Mikel Merino and Ethan Nwaneri, with Max Dowman on the right, Eze on the left and 17-year-old Andre Harriman-Annous leading the line to complete the attack.
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Arsenal’s young stars
Arsenal had four teenage stars taking part in this game, with Lewis-Skelly, Nwaneri, Dowman and Harriman-Annous.
Nwaneri opened the scoring in the 57th minute, arriving in the penalty area with a cutback from Lewis-Skelly, as the two Hale End academy products combined for the goal.
The 18-year-old has played 342 minutes this season, starting to pick up more minutes in central areas, despite getting the majority of his minutes on the right last campaign as Bukayo Saka’s understudy.
Ethan Nwaneri and Max Dowman Performances vs Brighton
| Stat | Nwaneri | Dowman |
| Minutes | 90 | 71 |
| Touches | 49 | 34 |
| Shots | 7 | 0 |
| Key passes | 1 | 1 |
| Dribbles (successful) | 8 (5) | 3 (1) |
| Recoveries | 3 | 5 |
| Ground duels (won) | 14 (9) | 7 (3) |
Instead, it was Dowman starting out on the right as he finds his feet in this Arsenal team, with the 15-year-old being a similar profile to Nwaneri, who excels between the lines in the halfspaces.
Completing five of his eight dribble attempts, Dowman drew four fouls in the match, showing his close control and ability to manipulate the ball in tight spaces.
Back up defence
After going the entirety of October without conceding a goal, Arsenal’s defenders will be receiving a ton of deserved praise, but their back-ups showed their worth against Brighton, taking the reins from Gabriel and William Saliba brilliantly.
The centre-back pairing won 10 of their 15 duels (both ground and aerial), imposing themselves on the game physically and giving Arsenal a base to build from, despite the wholesale changes.
Cristhian Mosquera and Piero Hincapie performances vs Brighton
| Stats | Mosquera | Hincapie |
| Minutes | 90 | 70 |
| Touches | 75 | 58 |
| Passing accuracy % | 83% | 94% |
| Tackles | 2 | 1 |
| Ground duels (won) | 5 (3) | 4 (3) |
| Aerial duels (won) | 3 (1) | 3 (3) |
| Clearances | 1 | 4 |
Mosquera has already shown his quality this season since arriving in the summer for just £13m, filling in for Saliba in the early stages of the season.
But Hincapie made his first start for the Gunners, getting 70 minutes under his belt, showing his quality on the ball and keeping a clean sheet.
Arsenal will now look ahead to Burnley at the weekend, looking to continue their streak without conceding, and extend their lead at the top of the Premier League.