Arsenal Carling Cup Player Ratings vs. Newcastle United, 4-0

Newcastle United

4 (Tim Krul OG 45, Theo Walcott 53, 88, Nicklas Bendtner 83)

Arsenal

Arsenal secured a place in the Carling Cup quarterfinals with a dominant 4-0 thrashing of Newcastle United at Saint James Park.

In what was a somewhat scrappy game which had all the traits to be a technically balanced and fast encounter, the Gunners dominated from start to finish and never looked like conceding to defeat.

The Magpies attempted to become overly physical with the Gunners but failed to match the North London giants' weight of possession and astute passing range.

An own goal opened the scoring seconds before the half time break, when a Nicklas Bendtner header from a curling corner failed to be cleared by the Newcastle defence and eventually resulted in a clearance ricocheting off goalkeeper Tim Krul's head and into the back of the net.

Arsenal than continued to boast heavy possession into the second half and soon found a second when Theo Walcott latched onto a header and raced away to all but sink the encounter.

However, there was suspicion that an offside Nicklas Bendtner interfered with the path of Danny Guthrie.

The game was then predominantly played throughout the middle of the park with the odd chance coming here and there. Fatigue then began to diminish the Newcastle fight back and Theo Walcott grabbed a second along with Bendtner scoring a stunning effort.

Arsenal now advance to the quarter final and the heat is set to pick up as Arsenal look to end their notorious trophy drought before the season has even ended.

Player Ratings

Wojciech Szczensy: 8

The Polish youngster has had to endure watching the more experienced keepers around him falter. But finally the young starlet received a rare opportunity and didn't disappoint making a number of smart saves, especially an incredible early effort to deny Alan Smith.

Emmanuel Eboue: 7

Hyperactive and strong as usual. The Ivorian provided an added dimension to the Arsenal attack with his tormenting runs and was solid in defence.

Laurent Koscienly: 7.5

The Frenchman returned from injury and picked up where he left us. Made a number of crunching tackles alongside vital interceptions. Koscienly also performed impressively in the air.

Johan Djourou: 6

Struggled early on with Newcastle's pacey frontline but grew as the game wore on and made a number of solid challenges and clearances.

Kieran Gibbs: N/A

Disappointment pulsated through the Arsenal community as the English international was forced to depart early with a leg injury.

Craig Eastmond: 6.5

The English youngster provided much needed physicality in the Arsenal midfield and made a number of strong tackles alongside boasting a neat passing range. A tad wasteful at times, however.

Denilson: 6

The Samba star was solid in defence despite the odd lapses in concentration and did contribute in attack as often as possible, but on occasion was too quiet when Arsenal desired more creativity.

Tomas Rosicky: 6.5

Lead from the front and attempted to orchestrate the Arsenal attack. Provided some nice touches and passes but often to no reward.

Theo Walcott: 8

The speed machine sent relief back to the Arsenal faithful as Walcott tormented the right flank with devastating effect as well as scoring two impressive goals.

Carlos Vela: 6

The Mexican looked lively on occasion but drifted in and out of the game too often and was rightly substituted.

Nicklas Bendtner: 7.5

Questions will be raised about what the Dane was doing when Walcott scored Arsenal's second but nonetheless a strong performance from the returning striker, who worked hard and finished immensely for his goal.

Substitutes

Bacary Sagna:6.5

Replaced Gibbs early; the Frenchman was his usual reliable presence in defence but was guilty of some wayward crosses.

Cesc Fabregas:6.5

Substituted on to gain some match time. Although it was unfair to the young guns on the bench, the captain was strong setting up Nicklas Bendtner's goal.

Jay Emmanuel-Thomas: N/A

Only a short stint for the teenager.