Arsenal booked their place in the next round of the Carabao Cup with a 2-0 win over League One strugglers Port Vale, but while the scoreline looked comfortable, the performance left many Gunners supporters frustrated ,Softfootball reports.
Eberechi Eze’s first goal in Arsenal colours gave Mikel Arteta’s men an early advantage before late pressure sealed the win. Yet despite fielding a strong attacking lineup, the North Londoners struggled for creativity, allowing Vale to leave the pitch with pride after a spirited display.
Arsenal fans: Happy for Eze, but creativity still lacking
Eberechi Eze’s first goal for Arsenal was one of the few bright sparks for supporters. Egal TV shared the excitement but added a word of caution:
Good to see Eze get his 1st Arsenal goal. On to the next round but we have to be much more creative to smash team 3 or 4 nil.
Others were quick to highlight long-standing attacking issues. Emmanuel Akpara complained:
Nwaneri is too selfish with the ball and why all the back passes? Must everybody score? Our problem now is not scoring but creating chances and feeding our striker, I feel for Gyökeres.
For many, the style of play remained the real concern. Dashan Pathak didn’t hold back:
Boring back pass and side pass merchants against a club languishing 19th in the third tier. Zero intent to score more goals. Absolute disasterclass tbh.
Arsenal were fluid on the night, and Eberechi Eze was part of the reason for the gunners win and progressing to the next round, the player signed from Crystal Palace in the closing stages of the transfer window, scored his first goal for the club, which earned him the player of the game.
Arsenal posted the official confirmation of Eberechi Eze’s picking up the Man of the Match Award in an exclsuive footage shared via the team’s official X handle, see video below;
Style of play and Arteta’s tactics questioned
With stars like Saka, Nwaneri, Martinelli and Gyökeres all on the pitch, some fans wondered why Arsenal still struggled to create chances. Jayafc27 summed up the frustration:
Liverpool, City & Spurs all struggled vs lower league sides… but that won’t stop our fans meltdown. Saka, Nwaneri, Eze, Martinelli, Dowman & Gyökeres out there, we still created very little. Merino’s fault? Arteta’s? Who’s to blame for a tragic 2-0 win?
Isoedwin12 added that the tactical identity has shifted from what fans loved a few seasons ago:
Arteta, can you adjust a bit of your plan? We play comfortably from our own half, but we still can’t do the same from the opposition half, and sometimes it feels annoying to watch my team play like that. We miss 2022/23 Arteta.
Some were even more direct, like Robertstyles4u:
Get used to the fact that Arteta wants to play horrible football provided it reduces the amount of chances the opponent gets. He’s psyched himself into believing that negative football is the only way to win & until the club sacks him, fans shld brace up for this.
Mixed reviews for players and selection choices
While Eze earned plaudits for his elegance and attacking spark, others came under heavy criticism. Ultdopemix listed several disappointments:
There is something wrong somewhere, do these players train together? No cohesion, Myles kept going backwards. Norgaard couldn’t make long passes even when players were making good runs, Merino was sluggish as usual, Martinelli isn’t useful from the left. We’ll miss Madueke a lot!
Bkernest also singled out Merino:
We won but the performance wasn’t impressive especially after Eze getting the opener. Same sequence of passing, Merino is slow, turns and pass backwards most of the time — he’s so average.
Meanwhile, Cantgetthewin warned that the club hierarchy won’t tolerate stagnation:
Boss man got selection issues, he better sort it out. Josh ain’t having it this season, trust me he’s on eagle eye shit this term if he sees no progress with this outlay, he’s bringing in replacements.
Meanwhile, after the game Arsenal players waited to applaud and greet the away fans for their support, Arsenal via their official X handle, posted an exclsuive footage of goalkeeper David Raya greeting young Arsenal fans and gifting them his gloves and his jersey, a joyful moment that would live forever with the gunner’s fans, see video below;
Port Vale fans: Pride in defeat
On the home side, Port Vale supporters left Vale Park proud of their team’s effort against elite opposition. Richard Atkins noted the midfield battle:
Tonight Vale lacked creativity, Walters worked so hard but no outlet to his pressing and tackling. When he was in the development team he had Hartley Barrett alongside him to create. It worked. Unfortunately Barrett is now playing in a lower league where his talent is wasted…
For Hannah Curwin, the occasion was about more than just the result:
Solid performance against world class opposition, everyone worked hard and you can’t ask for much more. Bonus is all the loser Stoke fans in the comments, boring as ever.
Zack Daniel took pride in simply holding their own:
Only losing 2-0 vs this Calabar of players (Arsenal) is huge credit to our management team. We’ve held our own vs Arsenal and shown we are a very, very solid squad.
Others, like Andy47, praised the team but voiced frustration at stadium issues:
Firstly I thought the lads were superb tonight and did every single Vale fan inside the stadium proud! But there begins the problem, we are told allocated seating yet I get to my seat only to find someone in it with the same ticket!
Regardless of whatever the outcome of the game was, Port Vale fans were happy with the teams performance, a league one side holding their own for over 81 minutes of football against a premier league giant like Arsenal, it was a very commendable show of fight and resilience by the home team.
Port vale via its official X handle, in an exclusive video showed the fans proudly showing their support for the team after exiting the carabao cup against Arsenal, see video below;
Final mood: Arsenal through, questions linger
For Arsenal, the night was about progress rather than performance. Eze’s debut goal and a clean sheet will encourage fans, but the same complaints around creativity, tempo, and Arteta’s style persist.
For Port Vale, the evening was one of pride and defiance their players pushed hard against one of Europe’s top clubs and left supporters applauding their spirit. In the end, it was Arsenal who advanced, but the noise around Arteta’s approach shows no signs of quieting down anytime soon.
