Winless in EPL, Arsenal rout West Brom 6-0 in League Cup

Once Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang started scoring there was no stopping Arsenal. The striker netted a hat-trick yesterday in a 6-0 win over West Bromwich Albion in the second round of the League Cup.

Mikel Arteta now just needs his Arsenal players to perform as impressively in the English Premier League (EPL), rather than just against a second-tier side.

“This is good to build the confidence of the team,” Aubameyang said. “We know we had a tough start to the season.”

The heat is on Arteta with Arsenal losing their opening two EPL matches and travelling to champion Manchester City on Saturday.

Arsenal had not even scored this season until the trip to West Brom. While the Arsenal starting line-up boasted 348 senior international appearances and three national captains in Aubameyang (Gabon), Martin Odegaard (Norway) and Granit Xhaka (Switzerland), West Brom changed the entire side from their last Championship game, handing out five debuts with an average age of under 23.

Aubameyang was infected with the coronavirus on the eve of the new campaign, missing the loss at Brentford and coming off the bench in the defeat by Chelsea on Sunday.

He will not have scored many easier goals than the first-half double that set Arsenal on their way to a thirdround meeting with third-tier side AFC Wimbledon.

Bukayo Saka’s smart feet saw him evade a number of challenges before his low shot was pushed out into the feet of Aubameyang, who tucked home from close range for Arsenal’s first goal of the campaign in the 17th minute.

Aubameyang tapped in a second after Nicolas Pepe hit the post. He turned provider before half-time, with his acrobatic shot falling to Pepe who slid in to finish.