Arsenal: 5 talking points from 6-0 West Brom rout

Well, that was more like it, wasn’t it? A comfortable 6-0 for Arsenal over a youthful West Brom side in the EFL Cup was just the tonic the club needed.

A hat-trick for captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and goals from Nicolas Pepe, Bukayo Saka, and the returning Alexandre Lacazette completed the rout.

Aaron Ramsdale, Martin Odegaard, Nuno Tavares, Sead Kolasinac, and Mohamed Elneny were all handed starting spots against the Baggies with Aubameyang leading the line.

While many will look at the quality of opposition, what Arsenal got out of the match was exactly what was needed: goals, confidence, and a swagger. Not to mention a win.

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Arsenal: 5 talking points as Mikel Arteta’s side book place in Carabao Cup third round with 6-0 demolition of West Brom

It could not have gone any better for Mikel Arteta and his side as apart from the opening ten or so minutes, in which the Baggies’ high press caused concerns to the backline, they strolled to victory.

As is Valerian Ismael’s style, his side, whoever is playing in it, aims for high turnovers and to force errors into the opposition, which they succeeded in doing during the first quarter of an hour. None of the back four got a free pass during that spell, forcing Ramsdale into a few early clean-up jobs.

Once the first goal came via a lucky break for Saka that resulted in an Aubameyang tap in, the visitors were largely untroubled. It was smooth sailing for Arteta’s side who got the perfect result on a night where the sorely needed it.

Pre-match there were few better scripts that could have been written up aside from that one. Here are the talking points from Arsenal’s big win over West Brom.

1. Aaron Ramsdale Impresses on Arsenal Debut

The opposition was not at Premier League level but on his Gunners debut, Ramsdale acquitted himself well.

A couple of hairy moments early on saw his defenders provided him with a quintessential Arsenal welcome. Dodgy moments under pressure and poorly weighted passes back were the ideal way to let him know he’s an Arsenal player now.

Yet as the side settled, so too did Ramsdale. His distribution was calm and collected while he also made a strong low save in the first half, before his kicking began to show its use. In particular, one line-breaking pass into midfield stood out.

Bernd Leno will likely come straight into the team to face Manchester City at the weekend, but Ramsdale has given Arteta something to think about as it has been a while that Arsenal has had a keeper look so confident.

It is just one game, but the early signs look promising.