I mean, did anyone even see Wednesday night’s game? Are we even sure it happened? Does it even count?
Okay, right. I’ve just got confirmation, Arsenal’s Carabao Cup tie with Brighton definitely went ahead and, unfortunately, their 3-1 defeat still stands.
The aftermath was a feeling that supporters haven’t gotten too familiar with this season. This was just the Gunners’ third defeat in all competitions in 2022/23, and their first at the Emirates since, you guessed it, Brighton came to town back in April.
Those pesky Seagulls.
While many supporters would’ve been happy to see their side progress in this competition, Wednesday’s defeat is hardly disastrous given their Premier League position and thus, it’s pretty easy to establish some balance when assessing this defeat.
2 positives & negatives from Arsenal’s early Carabao Cup exit
Here are a pair of positives and negatives from the Gunners’ early exit in the Carabao Cup.
Positive #1: Reiss Nelson’s performance
While the game wasn’t televised, Nelson’s performance against the Seagulls garnered plenty of praise from those reporting live from the Emirates and the clips of his display that have since surfaced would justify the initial excitement.
Nelson was surely the Gunners’ best player on the night and the star performer of the first half as he created Eddie Nketiah’s opener following a driving run and a well-timed pass.
The winger, who recently produced a breakout performance against Nottingham Forest, glided past challenges with aplomb throughout the contest and played with the sort of swagger that once saw him emerge as the club’s most promising academy prospect.
You could argue that this showing was even more impressive than his three goal contributions game two Sundays back.
Negative #1: Lack of squad depth exposed
Fabio Vieira struggled to assert himself on Wednesday night. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)
Mikel Arteta rang the changes from the side that beat Chelsea so impressively at Stamford Bridge on Sunday. William Saliba was the only player to keep his place, while there was a first Arsenal appearance for 20-year-old Karl Hein between the sticks.
This was another chance for the club’s fringe players to shine. Many failed to do so during the Europa League group stage, and the majority struggled again on Wednesday night.
The technical quality of the build-up was reduced significantly, while Sambi Lokonga and Fabio Vieira failed to work in tandem in midfield. Eddie Nketiah scored but was otherwise quiet, while Marquinhos failed to impress.
While there were bright periods, this was a disconnected performance from the Gunners which exposed their shortcomings in terms of squad depth. A couple of players must be signed in January if the Gunners are to build on their excellent start to the season.
Continued on the net slide…
https://t.co/56a7yBw5HT
<p>— Dan Critchlow (@afcDW) <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/11/10/2-positives-negatives-arsenals-early-carabao-cup-exit/"https://twitter.com/afcDW/status/1590445638121988096?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>November 9, 2022</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/11/10/2-positives-negatives-arsenals-early-carabao-cup-exit/"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></div>
<p>While the game wasn’t televised, Nelson’s performance against the Seagulls garnered plenty of praise from those reporting live from the Emirates and the clips of his display that have since surfaced would justify the initial excitement.</p>
<p>Nelson was surely the Gunners’ best player on the night and the star performer of the first half as he created Eddie Nketiah’s opener following a driving run and a well-timed pass.</p>
<p>The winger, who recently produced a <a title="Is this the start of Reiss Nelson’s Arsenal resurgence?" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/11/10/2-positives-negatives-arsenals-early-carabao-cup-exit/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/11/02/is-this-start-reiss-nelson-arsenal-resurgence/" rel="">breakout performance against Nottingham Forest</a>, glided past challenges with aplomb throughout the contest and played with the sort of swagger that once saw him emerge as the club’s most promising academy prospect.</p>
<p>You could argue that this showing was even more impressive than his three goal contributions game two Sundays back.</p>
<h2>Negative #1: Lack of squad depth exposed</h2>
<div id="attachment_130806" class="wp-caption alignnone">
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-130806" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/11/10/2-positives-negatives-arsenals-early-carabao-cup-exit/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2134,w_3200/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1440469160.jpeg" alt="" width="3200" height="2134" srcset="https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1440469160.jpeg 3200w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1440469160-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><p class="wp-caption-text">Fabio Vieira struggled to assert himself on Wednesday night. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)</p>
</div>
<p>Mikel Arteta rang the changes from the side that beat Chelsea so impressively at Stamford Bridge on Sunday. William Saliba was the only player to keep his place, while there was a first Arsenal appearance for 20-year-old Karl Hein between the sticks.</p>
<p>This was<a title="3 players that need to impress Mikel Arteta against FC Zurich" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/11/10/2-positives-negatives-arsenals-early-carabao-cup-exit/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/11/03/3-arsenal-players-need-impress-arteta-fc-zurich/" rel=""> another chance for the club’s fringe players to shine</a>. Many failed to do so during the Europa League group stage, and the majority struggled again on Wednesday night.</p>
<p>The technical quality of the build-up was reduced significantly, while Sambi Lokonga and Fabio Vieira failed to work in tandem in midfield. Eddie Nketiah scored but was otherwise quiet, while Marquinhos failed to impress.</p>
<p>While there were bright periods, this was a disconnected performance from the Gunners which exposed their shortcomings in terms of squad depth. A couple of players must be signed in January if the Gunners are to build on their excellent start to the season.</p>
<p><em>Continued on the net slide…</em></p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/11/10/2-positives-negatives-arsenals-early-carabao-cup-exit/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> #2 positive & negative </a>
</div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><h2>Positive #2: Post-World Cup schedule is eased</h2>
<div class="embed ">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">The 2022/23 Carabao Cup dates: <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/11/10/2-positives-negatives-arsenals-early-carabao-cup-exit/"https://t.co/hQDozbCp1H">pic.twitter.com/hQDozbCp1H
<p>— Ollie Bayliss (@Ollie_Bayliss) <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/11/10/2-positives-negatives-arsenals-early-carabao-cup-exit/"https://twitter.com/Ollie_Bayliss/status/1529052856677965825?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>May 24, 2022</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/11/10/2-positives-negatives-arsenals-early-carabao-cup-exit/"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></div>
<p>As we know, the 2022/23 schedule, thanks to the first-ever winter World Cup, is an absolute joke. Despite some shaky performances in October, Arsenal have managed their frantic fixture list very well thus far.</p>
<p>And so, the primary reason why many supporters were indifferent to Wednesday’s defeat is that the Gunners have now potentially taken a few games off their schedule. While a cup run would be nice, winning the Carabao Cup is not the club’s primary objective this season and prolonging their stay in this competition could hamper their Premier League form.</p>
<p>The risk of burnout would certainly increase. But now they’re out, the Gunners will be afforded some rest periods during the second half of the season and there will be an opportunity to fit in the Everton game that needs to be rescheduled.</p>
<h2>Negative #2: A chance for silverware gone</h2>
<div id="attachment_130807" class="wp-caption alignnone">
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-130807" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/11/10/2-positives-negatives-arsenals-early-carabao-cup-exit/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2133,w_3200/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1244644321.jpeg" alt="" width="3200" height="2133" srcset="https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1244644321.jpeg 3200w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1244644321-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><p class="wp-caption-text">Brighton progressed into round four of the Carabao Cup. (Photo by GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images)</p>
</div>
<p>Winning the Carabao Cup may not be a primary goal, but silverware is silverware and Mikel Arteta has only lifted one major trophy (no, I’m not including the Community Shield) as Arsenal boss.</p>
<p>And despite their excellent start to the Premier League season, some might consider this competition as the best chance for the Gunners to win a trophy in 2022/23</p>
<p>Sure, they’ve still got the Europa League and FA Cup, but those competitions aren’t exactly going to be cakewalks, are they?</p>
<div class="embed ">
<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="8rojhzBCnE"><p><a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/11/10/2-positives-negatives-arsenals-early-carabao-cup-exit/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/11/10/wolves-vs-arsenal-preview-watch-team-news-prediction/">Wolves vs Arsenal preview: How to watch on TV, live stream, team news & prediction</a></p></blockquote>
<p><iframe class="wp-embedded-content" sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" style="position: absolute; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px);" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/11/10/2-positives-negatives-arsenals-early-carabao-cup-exit/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2022/11/10/wolves-vs-arsenal-preview-watch-team-news-prediction/embed/#?secret=8rojhzBCnE" data-secret="8rojhzBCnE" width="500" height="282" title="“Wolves vs Arsenal preview: How to watch on TV, live stream, team news & prediction” — Pain in the Arsenal" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></p></div>
<p>With several Premier League sides exiting the competition in round three, some might regard this defeat as a missed opportunity to potentially win some silverware. The vast majority, though, are understandably not too bothered.</p><!—pageview_candidate—>">
