Eberechi Eze opens Arsenal account in Carabao Cup victory at Port Vale

For Arsenal the night will be remembered for Eberechi Eze’s first goal for the club but for Port Vale they will look back at when they ran a Premier League giant to the very end, only to fall short and out of the Carabao Cup.

Once Eze scored early on, it felt like Arsenal would thrash their League One opponents but instead it was a tight game as Port Vale gave everything. They did not have the requisite quality and Arsenal scored again, the second coming late on from Leandro Trossard.

The hosts offered the anticipated blood and thunder approach in the opening seconds of the match, spurred on by the biggest Vale Park crowd this century. But before the smoke from the pre-match pyrotechnics settled, Arsenal were in control and ahead. Gabriel Martinelli found Eze in the middle of the box in the eighth minute, aided by a Myles Lewis-Skelly dummy, and the former Crystal Palace playmaker calmly placed the ball beyond Joe Gauci for his first Gunners goal.

Mikel Arteta put out a strong team, the only debutant being the world’s most expensive goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga. There were nine changes from the draw against Manchester City but the movement was slick and the passing even sharper as the Premier League side repeatedly found space between third-tier defenders, helped by having over 80% possession before the break.

For all their domination, Arsenal did not test Gauci until Mikel Merino flicked the ball through for Eze but the goalkeeper was off his line quickly to block. Port Vale hassled their way back into the game, lifting the crowd through work rate as they did their best to pressurise the Gunners. Considering how early Arsenal took the lead, the League One side were boosted by going into half-time with a single-goal deficit.

Leandro Trossard doubles Arsenal’s lead in the 86th minute. Photograph: Chris Radburn/Reuters

Arsenal needed something to silence the majority inside Vale Park. They almost got it when a through ball allowed Martinelli to beat the offside trap and he looked favourite to beat the onrushing Gauci, only for the goalkeeper to find an extra yard of pace, sliding in 30 yards from his net and then whacking clear.

There was greater confidence in the Vale ranks the longer the score stayed at 1-0. They were more eager to send the ball into the Arsenal box and make them think, rather than the conservative approach that was the hallmark of the opening 45 minutes. The fans were also trying to play their part by creating a hostile atmosphere, something only heightened by Merino and Ronan Curtis enjoying a mini-wrestling match on the touchline.

If the idea was to get players into a rhythm, Bukayo Saka struggled to cause Vale problems. He was slow in possession and rarely had a chance to run at the defence, often needing to turn back.

Saka was booed off by the home supporters in the 63rd minute, who were upset by his reaction to an earlier challenge, when Arteta sent 15-year-old Max Dowman on in his place for his longest competitive appearance for the club.

The League One strugglers were having the better of the action, causing Arsenal to panic at the back. Port Vale could have equalised if they were more dynamic after a misplaced Cristhian Mosquera pass across his own box and a rising drive from Devante Cole kept Arrizabalaga interested until the last second when it whistled over the bar.

Instead of celebrating, supporters were silenced, apart from complaints about a potential offside, when a direct ball from William Saliba found Trossard. The substitute took a few touches and fired into the bottom corner from the edge of the box to send Arsenal into the next round and break Vale hearts.