Arsenal continued their winning streak with a 2-0 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion in the Carabao Cup fourth round on Wednesday night.
Manager Mikel Arteta decided to ring in the changes against the Seagulls. Eberechi Eze was the only starter from the 1-0 Premier League win over Crystal Palace.
Max Dowman finally made his full debut for the London giants. The 15-year-old created history as he became the youngest-ever starter in the club’s long history.
However, there was another surprise as Arteta picked Andre Harriman-Annous to lead the line. The 17-year-old was rewarded for his good run of form in the academy.
The youngster had a nervous start but grew in confidence as the game went on. He made some quality runs and should have scored a goal on his Gunners debut.
Jurrien Timber put the ball on the plate for Harriman-Annous to score, but he squandered his one-on-one chance before Saka converted from the rebound to make it 2-0.
Despite this, it was a credible performance from the striker. He had a passing accuracy of 78 percent, while winning three ground duels and a couple of tackles.
Harriman-Annous showed his potential in front of the club’s faithful at the Emirates Stadium, and William Saliba was definitely impressed by the teenager’s showing.
After the game, the club graduate described his debut as a ‘proud moment‘ on Instagram.
Saliba likened him to Manchester United star Marcus Rashford, currently on loan at Barcelona.
Here is a screenshot.
There is a back story to Saliba’s comment. In December last year, Harriman-Annous named himself ‘Andre Rashford‘ when asked by a fan whether he was Marcus Rashford’s brother.
The young striker played 77 minutes against the Seagulls yesterday before Mikel Merino moved upfront.
Viktor Gyokeres was an unused substitute and was given a much-needed breather after a heavy workload for club and country since the start of the campaign.
Arsenal will be in Premier League action against Burnley on the road on Saturday. Gyokeres is expected to lead the attack in a much-changed starting line-up.
There could be as many as nine changes from yesterday’s result. Eze and Cristhian Mosquera are the only two candidates, who are likely to start this weekend.
Saliba is presently nursing an injury picked up against Crystal Palace last weekend. If he is deemed unfit, Mosquera should continue in the right centre-back role.
Stats from Sofascore.com
