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Arsenal stormed into the third round of the Carabao Cup 2021/22 season after smashing West Brom with six unanswered goals.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang bagged a hat-trick while Nicolas Pepe, Bukayo Saka and Alexandre Lacazette all scored apiece too.
The Gunners endured a frustrating start when the Baggies defended resolutely, but their sustained pressure eventually broke the home side's resolve in the 17th minute.
There was no looking back thereafter as Mikel Arteta's side went on a rampage, silencing the Hawthorns with their biggest ever victory at the stadium.
A first win of the season and the first set of goals for beleaguered Arsenal, who'll look to channel this momentum into the weekend's big game against Manchester City.
Here are the player ratings:
Aaron Ramsdale - 7.5/10
Arsenal's summer signing made four saves on the night but had a rather comfortable evening as Arsenal had West Brom on the backfoot for much of the game, leaving him isolated in goal.
Calum Chambers - 7.5/10
The full-back provided an outlet down his flank with a tireless run and gave West Brom a run for their money off-the-ball too, completing four tackles and winning four of his six ground duels.
Rob Holding - 8/10
It was an excellent shift from Holding, who held the fort impeccably and read the game smartly too, making four clearances and two interceptions. He completed 93% of his passes and also attempted to initiate attacks from the back with seven long balls.
Sead Kolasinac - 7/10
Arteta bamboozled the fans by starting the Bosnian, who's set to leave the club soon. Although he was deployed in the centre-back role, Kolasinac was seen mostly near the left-fank and turned in a decent shift. He completed 95% of his passes but got ahead of his own skies at times, getting himself booked in the second-half.
Nuno Tavares - 6/10
Of all the left-back options for Arsenal, it was Tavares who started there in another perplexing move and the youngster didn't have a good outing. He misplaced a lot of passes, got dispossessed a staggering 24 times, and was poor in his ground and aerial duels too.
Mohamed Elneny - 6.5/10
The Egyptian went about his business as usual. He sprayed passes all across the pitch and created one big chance. But nothing spectacular to see from him.
Granit Xhaka - 7/10
Xhaka's work-rate was commendable as he ran his socks off. He completed 93% of his passes, was strong on the ball, and made five long balls too. Yet, the Swiss international was taken off after only 67 minutes.
Nicolas Pepe - 9/10
A huge menace down the right flank. His effort in the first-half came off the upright but Aubameyang was on hand to turn in the rebound but got his goal just a minute later. Then in the second-half, another strike of his ricocheted off the bar before assisting Lacazette. An eventful night.
Martin Odegaard - 7.5/10
He drifted in and out of the game but did enough to register an assist, putting things on the plate for Saka early on in the second-half. He had an 85% pass completion rate too. Not bad for a second debut for Arsenal.
Bukayo Saka - 9/10
Aubameyang took home the man of the match award but Saka was equally impressive for Arsenal on the night. He was the architect of the rout - distributing the ball excellently, linking up with fellow attackers to devastating effect, and even getting on the scoresheet. Talismanic.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang - 10/10
Hat-trick hero of the night, Aubameyang didn't produce a vintage performance, but gave a poaching masterclass in the first-half, firing a rebound twice before capping off his treble with a peach of a strike. Arsenal's Messiah returns.
Substitutes
Alexandre Lacazette - 8.5/10
The Frenchman very nearly teed up Pepe right after coming on but redeemed himself with a goal just minutes later, assisted by Pepe himself.
Gabriel Martinelli - 6/10
The Arsenal striker came on for the final 15 minutes but struggled to get himself involved.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles - 6/10
He assisted Aubameyang's hat-trick goal with a simple tee-up.
