Sheffield Wednesday vs. Arsenal: Winners and Losers from Capital One Cup
Sheffield Wednesday caused a shock in the Capital One Cup fourth round with a 3-0 victory over Arsenal on Tuesday night at Hillsborough.
Just one week removed from defeating Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League, Arsenal fielded a weakened side and endured a torrid time against the second-tier side. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Theo Walcott left the match with early injuries before Ross Wallace and Lucas Joao gave the Owls a 2-0 half-time lead.
Sam Hutchinson then struck in the 51st minute to finish off any thoughts of an Arsenal comeback.
Here, B/R selects winners and losers from the match.
Winner: Sheffield Wednesday and Efficiency
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Admittedly, Arsenal fielded a weakened side, with manager Arsene Wenger making eight changes to the team that beat Everton in the Premier League over the weekend. But Sheffield Wednesday deserve massive credit for a superb performance.
Besides, you can only beat the team that's sent out to play you. And the Owls did that with stunning ease.
Wallace and Joao scored excellent goals to give Wednesday a commanding 2-0 lead at the break. Joao, who was brilliant on the night, easily could have had another.
"SWFC have been superb," tweeted former Premier League footballer Stan Collymore. "Confident, broke the will of #AFC early on, out fought and out worked them. Much quality from crosses/set pieces."
So great was Sheffield Wednesday's superiority that it was almost surprising to find that the Owls finished the match with only four shots on target, per ESPN FC. Arsenal, meanwhile, held 71 percent of possession but rarely looked like scoring. Score one for efficient football.
Loser: Arsenal's Injury Concerns
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The bad news began early for Arsenal.
Oxlade-Chamberlain, who started the match in a central attacking role, limped off in just the fifth minute with an apparent hamstring injury. Walcott, who replaced him, left the game just 14 minutes later with an injury of his own.
If one or both injuries are serious, it would be a major blow for Arsenal. The Gunners already have a long injury list that includes Mikel Arteta, Jack Wilshere, Tomas Rosicky, Danny Welbeck and Aaron Ramsey. The latter's injury last week against Bayern seemed to have given Oxlade-Chamberlain a chance, but now Ox potentially faces a layoff of his own.
If both substitutions were merely precautionary, then there is less to worry about. But if Ox and Walcott miss time, Arsenal's title challenge would take a hit. As Orbinho noted on Twitter, the Gunners have used the fewest players of any club in the Premier League this season. An already thin squad might have just become that much thinner.
Losing to Sheffield Wednesday in the fourth round of the League Cup with an under-strength squad might not be that big of a deal to most Arsenal fans. But the repercussions from the defeat could be far-reaching.
Winner: Sheffield Wednesday and Scoring First
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Moments after Sheffield Wednesday opened the scoring through Wallace in the 27th minute, Opta Joe sent out a tweet that was either promising or ominous, depending on your allegiances.
This was the seventh time in eight games that the Owls had scored first. In those previous seven games, Carlos Carvalhal's side won five times and drew once. After Tuesday's famous upset, make it six wins and one draw.
Loser: Arsenal's Momentum
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Arsenal had been riding a wave of momentum before Tuesday.
Just before the international break, Arsenal routed Manchester United, 3-0, at the Emirates. Following the break, the Gunners beat Watford, Bayern Munich and Everton in quick succession.
The stage seemed set for a long run of success. But manager Wenger—perhaps with an eye on the Premier League—made eight changes to the squad that beat Everton this past weekend. Only goalkeeper Petr Cech, midfielder Oxlade-Chamberlain (who was quickly injured) and Olivier Giroud retained their starting berths.
Almost inevitably, Arsenal struggled with all the changes, in addition to all the inexperience in the squad. Two debutants—Glen Kamara and Alex Iwobi—were in the starting XI, and two more (Ismael Bennacer and Krystian Bielik) came on as substitutes.
"I'd imagine Arsenal fans will be frustrated," tweeted sports journalist Jack Rathborn. "Wenger always does this, but surely had to ride the wave and pick a stronger team, [this was a] momentum killer."
Loser: Arsenal's Fringe Players
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With the possible exception of Bielik, who shored up the midfield after entering as a substitute in the second half, none of Arsenal's fringe players will have impressed Wenger.
Veteran Mathieu Flamini was outgunned in midfield. Young forward Joel Campbell proved ineffective again and must be running out of chances. Defenders Mathieu Debuchy and Kieran Gibbs won't have convinced Wenger to restore them to the starting XI.
It would be a mistake, though, to pile too much pressure on the debutants. They simply weren't ready, as Wenger noted after the match.
"The level was too high for the young players tonight," Wenger told BBC Sport. They are not ready to play at this level. We are short now with the injuries. It is a big blow for us."
Arsenal's first XI is a strong unit, as we've seen recently in the Premier League and against Bayern. Beyond that, the squad has serious question marks, due in part to injuries. With fixtures piling up in the coming weeks, that could prove costly for the Gunners' ambitions for silverware.
Alexis Sanchez probably wants to play every game, and Arsenal supporters would surely love it. But even the tireless Chilean needs a rest every now and then. And Wenger needs more options at his disposal.
Loser: Those Arsenal Uniforms
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It made no difference to the outcome of the game, but it was hard to understand why Arsenal wore dark blue shirts with lighter blue shorts and socks—against a team whose shirts are blue and white.
Arsenal's primary colors are red and white, which wouldn't have created a clash of kits in any way. But for some reason, the Gunners came out in a horrendously ugly kit that matched the putrid display on the pitch.
"Silver-lining: one less opportunity to ever see that it-should-burn 'Cup kit' again," tweeted B/R's Sean Swaby. "Let us never speak of its horror."
