Mikel Arteta singles out two Arsenal youngsters after 'special' Brighton win
Arsenal beat Brighton with a much changed side to march on in the Carabao Cup with Max Dowman among the two teenagers who stood up and made a mark on Mikel Arteta
Mikel Arteta hailed the performances of young duo Max Dowman and Andre Harriman-Annous after a much-changed Arsenal side saw off Brighton to march into the last eight of the Carabao Cup.
The Gunners sit top of the Premier League and, despite making a number of personnel tweaks, were able to down the Seagulls at the Emirates with some of their next generation stars taking centre stage.
Dowman has been on people's radar since pre-season and has been given several opportunities, including a substitute cameo at Liverpool. The 15-year-old became the youngest Arsenal player to start a match with 17-year-old Harriman-Annous making his first outing off the bench - both quickly making a mark on their head coach.
Dowman has agreed to sign a scholarship deal as he is not yet old enough to sign as a professional and Arteta was thrilled to see him and Harriman-Annous enjoy landmark evenings.
He said: "A very special evening to be fair, very happy for various reasons. Obviously, we are in the quarter-finals, and we won the game against a really tough opponent. We made 10 changes, we played players that never played together, yet we made two huge debuts for Max [Dowman] and Andre [Harriman-Annous].
READ MORE: Who is Andre Harriman-Annous? The Arsenal wonderkid handed first-team debut against BrightonREAD MORE: Arsenal youngsters shine vs Brighton as quarter-final spot secured - 5 talking points"That feeling of giving the opportunity to somebody and fulfilling a dream is unique, and I'm very happy that things turned out to be very positive, and we managed to win the game."
Arsenal have not claimed a major trophy since their 2020 FA Cup triumph. The Carabao Cup will be the first chance for any club to land silverware and the Gunners' squad depth means they are expected to fight on numerous fronts. Last year in this competition they were favourites heading into their semi-final with Newcastle, but lost out.
Ethan Nwaneri opened the scoring just shy of the hour mark. He has been earmarked as a future star for years but has seen minutes limited this season such is the competition for places. The winger took his opportunity though to set Arsenal on their way.
Arteta said: "Really good and he came on the other day as well and he's going to have those chances and when he has, he needs to make the most out of it. I think he took the goal really well."
Another academy graduate in Bukayo Saka doubled the Arsenal lead after replacing Dowman 20 minutes from the end. The north Londoners will host Crystal Palace in the last eight.
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