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#3 Hale End graduates shine for Arsenal
It was a wonderful night for Arsenal's youngsters. Eddie Nketiah, Joe Willock and Reiss Nelson all put in impressive performances that were crucial to Arsenal's win.
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Nketiah has made a habit of scoring ugly goals for Arsenal, and his opener was no different. England's U21 top-scorer of all time has no qualms about his reputation as an ungainly goal-poacher.
He's scored ten goals for Arsenal, and the total yardage of those goals have been 50.5 - an average of 5 yards from goal.
Joe Willock, who got Arsenal's second goal, was full of energy throughout, with his driving qualities from midfield being a unique asset in Arteta's squad. Reiss Nelson also acquitted himself well - his trickery caused Dundalk all sorts of problems, but Nelson's final ball needs some polishing.
To cap off a wonderful night for Arsenal's academy, highly-rated striker, Folarin Balogun came on to make his debut.
#2 Nicolas Pepe blows hot and cold for Arsenal
Prior to scoring his goal, one could easily make a case that Nicolas Pepe was having a bad night. Indeed, one of the reasons that Dundalk kept Arsenal quiet in the opening 40 minutes was because Pepe was quite poor in retaining this ball.
Yet, the Ivorian is a player capable of producing incredibly breathtaking moments. A few minutes into the second half, he made a delicious roll of the ball with his left foot before firing a lovely right-footed curled effort straight into the top corner.
After his goal, Pepe regressed and came off for Willian at the hour mark.
Having had a season to bed in, Pepe still remains an enigma, but Arsenal fans can take solace in the fact that their best players can still impact games even when they're not at their best.
Nevertheless, Pepe's £72 million fee could eventually feel justified.
#1 Mikel Arteta oversees an attacking improvement from Arsenal
It was a worrying sight for Arsenal fans when the Gunners looked so bereft of ideas against Leicester City in the second half of their 1-0 loss.
Since then Mikel Arteta has shorn up the Arsenal defence, but the attacking impetus of the team has leaves much to be desired. Nevertheless, it was a decent turnaround against Dundalk, as Arsenal put aside their visitors with ease.
Arteta would have particularly noted the performances of youngsters Reiss Nelson and Joe Willock. Their direct running at defenders and willingness to shoot are qualities Arsenal's first XI currently lack.
While there is hope that Arsenal's attacking improvement will continue against Manchester United in the weekend, it's important to note that Arteta sets up very differently in cup competitions:
