Clean Sheet in the North-East

You might feel that Arsene Wenger never really put a serious assault on the League Cup since taking charge of Arsenal. His usual line-ups would consist of squad players and promising youngsters that have excelled in the reserve side.

However he has proven so many times that his belief in the ability of young players at his disposal is not an act of blind faith. The have dispatched quite a number of big name sides in recent years such as Liverpool and Manchester United and a few sides that fielded their strong sides when facing The Gunners in that competition such as WBA and Wigan Athletic.

This morning Carling Cup tie at Newcastle saw Wenger continued playing his young players. Craig Eastmond and Kieran Gibbs continued to feature while Havard Nordveit made it to the bench. But for me the most important player starting the match was goalkeeper Wosciech Szczesny who has been crying out for a chance to prove his worth for Arsenal.

The Polish youngster certainly did not disappoint with a few good saves against a Newcastle side that was not really at their full strength, with Chris Hughton clearly putting his priority to the weekend North-East derby against Sunderland at the same venue.

The emerging Szczesny, whose display during his loan spell at Brentford really showed his potential to become a good goalkeeper; will now make the contest for the spot between the sticks even hotter at The Emirates between him, Lukasz Fabianski and the 'injured' Manuel Almunia. Of course, the three of them will have to content with Vito Mannone once the Italian loan spell at Hull City ends in January.

After a long period of feeling vulnerable with their goalkeepers, Arsenal fans can now breathe a bit easier knowing that Wenger is right after all by sticking with the ones at his disposal. Fabianski certainly growing with confidence during each match he played and he would have to work hard in order not to make any mistake, knowing that his place could be taken by others.

I am very pleased with the developments as I have been a fan of Fabianski since he first came to the club. His erratic displays prior to this season really made me wonder whether he is just a good goalkeeper in a low quality league in Poland or he really is a great goalkeeper in the making. Right now my opinion is of the latter and I really hope that he will keep it up for years to come.


The 4-0 win against Newcastle also marked good return to the side by Theo Walcott and Nicklas Bendtner. The England international brace sandwiching another good strike by Bendtner who has scored twice in as many matches after a similar strike against Manchester City on Sunday.

It was a match with a lot of positives for Wenger and he will be looking forward to Saturday London derby against West Ham United at The Emirates as another potential three points on the board even though matches against The Hammers were never easy.


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