Doman breaks record by passing the League Cup, Arsenal shows off strong "Plan B" again

Sports Weekly All-Media Reporter Yan Yu

Compared with the Premier League, the importance of the League Cup is self-evident. Therefore, when the schedule is difficult, even if it is the top 16 competition, most teams will still invariably carry out major rotations and let their "leftovers" become the starters. This move may lead to a rout (like Liverpool), but it also happens to be an excuse to say "we gave up strategically". Of course, most of the traditional strong teams still passed the test, which is a good way to brag about how strong their respective reserves are. For example, Manchester City reversed the British Championship team Swansea 3-1. Shirki, who has not been reused by Guardiola for a long time, was a highlight with one pass and one shot. Chelsea narrowly defeated Wolves, the bottom team in the Premier League, 4-3. Although Delap's double yellow was very topical, Gittens, who had been looked down upon by the fans before, also gave wonderful statistics of 1 goal and 2 assists.

Arsenal won the most "cleanly" among the traditional strong teams. The score of 2-0 was not big, but they achieved zero seals against Brighton, and incidentally also set a new record - Max Dauman, 15 years and 302 days old, the youngest starting player in the history of the new Gunners was born.

From a certain perspective, "Youngest XX" may be just a false name with little meaning. After all, Arsenal's former record holder is not very famous. Jack Potter, the 17-year-old England goalkeeper, played for Arsenal in the League Cup against Bolton Wanderers on September 24 last year when he was 16 years and 72 days old. But looking further forward, the previous record holder is not that simple. It was Cesc Fabregas in October 2003, when he was 16 years and 177 days old.

Regarding Dauman, we also know that he just happened to get a training opportunity because the game was not important. Since last season, rumors of "super talents" emerging from Arsenal's youth training have spread like wildfire. In the preseason this summer, Dauman appeared on the senior team's field. Although it was just a glimpse, it was enough to make people imagine. Some people even boldly predicted: This is the embryo of the future king! With any luck, Dauman's ceiling might even be more than just becoming a superstar.

However, the future is still far away, and it is not appropriate to praise him too much. The fact is that in today's Arsenal with so many strong players, it is not easy for Dauman to get more playing time. So far in the new season, the young man has made two Premier League appearances, but they were both as substitutes, and the combined time was less than half an hour. In the Champions League, he entered the bench against Athletic Bilbao, but has yet to make an official appearance. In this League Cup start, Daoman probably held his breath and wanted to show off his talents to the fullest. As a result, he contributed a game-high 5 successful dribbles, drew 4 fouls and won 9 one-on-one duels, which was also higher than any other player on the field.

"His delicate control and touch of the ball quickly excited the supporters. He defeated Boscali (Brighton left back) with some clever skills and almost won a penalty kick, but he was prone to falling down." Regarding Dauman's performance, the British media "Football London" commented this way. Considering that he is still a child under 16 years old, this performance is wonderful enough, and only needs a goal or assist to sublimate it. But it doesn’t matter, the young Daoman still has a lot of time. He still has the opportunity to refresh Arsenal’s team history records such as the youngest Premier League starter and the youngest goal scorer, or become the youngest player to play in the Champions League. His talent is amazing, but the way forward still has to be done step by step.

As one of the brightest shooters in this campaign, Dauman's contribution may not be decisive. Another "kid brother" and the record holder for the youngest player to appear in the Premier League is Nwaneri. After all, it was he who broke the deadlock for Arsenal in the 57th minute. The ball was played by 19-year-old left-back Skelly who cut into the penalty area and hit the ball. 18-year-old Nwaneri outflanked and scored with a low shot. The two young players who have emerged from the youth training since last season once again made people feel the youthful power of the Gunners.

In fact, the second goal scored by the 24-year-old "veteran" Saka was also full of youthful elements, because it was Harriman Annus who first forced the Brighton goalkeeper to save the ball. This unfamiliar name is another new product of Arsenal's youth training. He is a 17-year-old who can play center or winger. He has good height and good speed. He has played many games in the U21 reserve team this season and contributed 3 goals and 1 assist.

There are 4 players in the starting lineup who are under 20 years old. Arsenal’s rotation intensity in this campaign is evident. In fact, compared to the 1-0 defeat to Crystal Palace last weekend, coach Arteta only retained Eze and replaced all the other 10 starting players. Normally, this would be a very risky move, but today's Gunners have indeed shown that they can play with both teams. "Plan B" has a youth storm in the frontcourt (although it may still need help from the big brothers), and the choices in the backcourt are also reassuring.

Although Brighton did not play at full strength from beginning to end in this game, they still had a fierce offensive. The 18 shots in the game were even higher than the Gunners. In the face of the opponent's firepower, the new central defender combination of Mosquera and Inkapiye, even if it is not indestructible, can withstand the pressure and rarely make any obvious mistakes. The experienced goalkeeper Kepa either struck with precision or blocked with high passes, and his 6 successful saves were also a key factor in the Gunners not losing.