Teenager Fran Merida netted his first Arsenal goal as Arsene Wenger’s young Gunners beat Liverpool 2-1 to reach the quarter-finals of the Carling Cup. Just back from the Under-20 World Cup with Spain, the 19-year-old former Barcelona trainee drilled in a fine first-half strike as Wenger’s faith in youth was once again justified.

Nicklas Bendtner, himself only 21 but now a regular in the side, produced a powerful finish after 50 minutes to put Arsenal into the last eight after Emiliano Insua had equalised.

As expected, Wenger had shaken things up in the team selection for his 750th game at the helm, naming an entirely different starting XI from the one which let a 2-0 lead slip during the closing stages at West Ham in the Barclays Premier League on Sunday.

There was, though, a more experienced look to this Gunners team, with veteran Mickael Silvestre captaining the side at the ripe old age of 32, while French midfielder Samir Nasri made his first appearance of the season after recovering from a fractured leg, while Croatia striker Eduardo was also in the team.

Only Dirk Kuyt, the Reds captain for the night, remained from the Liverpool side which had defeated Manchester United - although there was a welcome place on the bench for Alberto Aquilani, who had yet to play following his big-money summer move from Roma.

The hosts started well, and Merida - who almost went out on loan to Levante, only for Wenger to pull the plug on the deal at the last minute - fired a low effort just off target.

Liverpool created a decent opening when a clever backheel from David Ngog, on target at Anfield to help sink United, released Philipp Degen on the edge of the penalty area, but the Swiss defender dragged his shot across the face of goal.

On 10 minutes, Nasri was upended by Martin Skrtel just outside the Liverpool box, but chipped his free-kick over the wall and wide.

Bendtner then overcomplicated a one-two with Nasri, trying to stab the ball square to Aaron Ramsey, rather than just shoot when clear through.

Merida showed him just how it should be done with a fine strike on 19 minutes. Craig Eastmond, 18, stole possession on the right, and the ball broke for Merida, who promptly smashed a first-time, left-foot shot in off the post past Diego Cavalieri.

Arsenal, though, had their lead only until the 26th minute when Insua netted a fine equaliser. A long ball up field was knocked down by Ryan Babel, and it dropped perfectly for Insua, who drilled a looping shot up over Lukasz Fabianski from 25 yards for the Argentinian defender’s first goal in English football.

Arsenal were soon back on the offensive, with Eduardo and Ramsey combining to set Merida clear on the left side of the penalty area, and the youngster did well to stay on his feet as Cavalieri charged out of goal.

There was another let-off for Liverpool when Cavalieri dropped the ball in a crowded six-yard box, but enough black shirts were around to clear.

Arsenal kept up their momentum following the restart, and went ahead again five minutes into the second period.

A sweeping move saw Merida feed the ball through to Bendtner on the penalty spot. The Denmark international held off Skrtel before smashing his shot into the roof of the net.

To their credit, Liverpool came back strongly. Fabianski had to get down to save a low, 25-yard free-kick from Babel which would have crept inside the keeper’s right-hand post.

With 17 minutes left, Wenger made a change when 20-year-old Mark Randall and Hackney-born striker Sanchez Watt, 18, replaced Eastmond and Bendtner, while Liverpool sent on Yossi Benayoun for Ngog. Aquilani, the £20 million man coming back from knee surgery, also got a long-awaited run-out, Damien Plessis making way.

Liverpool almost snatched an equaliser when Kuyt swept the ball across the six-yard box, but Babel, sliding in, just could not make contact.

Eduardo drilled his shot wide of the far post, but Arsenal had done enough to secure a place in the last eight.

After the match Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger hailed Merida’s impact, who joined Arsenal form spansih side Barcelona.

“Fran is a quality player,” said Wenger, who decided against allowing the youngster to go out to Levante on loan. “He comes from a very good school.

“I kept him because I felt he had the quality to break through, but when you look at all the players who did not play, of course the competition for players is very difficult.”

Wenger added: “Fran came to us at a very young age, but our school is in line with the way he was educated. He suits perfectly the way we want to play football.”

The Arsenal boss believes the performances of the likes of Merida shows just why he continues to believe in the young Gunners.

“It is always difficult to convince people we do not need players, but when you see them tonight, you understand why,” said Wenger.

“We see them every day in training and have so much quality with our young players that we are not specially out on the market.

“Fran is 19, [Aaron] Ramsey and [Craig] Eastmond still only 18. To play in a game at that level, they deserve a lot of credit.”

Full-back Kieran Gibbs turned in a decent display in front of England manager Fabio Capello and Wenger believes the 20-year-old can force his way into the World Cup squad.

“Gibbs will get games and he has already this season,” said the Arsenal manager. “Personally, if Capello asks me my opinion, I will give him a very positive one. I believe he is ready to step up.”

The Arsenal manager was more than happy with the way all of his team performed. Wenger said: “Overall it was a game of top quality with two teams who really went for it, played at a high pace. We gave people what they paid for - top quality.

“The experienced players played well, so did the young players, some of whom were making their debut. Liverpool came back to 1-1, and we still managed to win, that shows we have also mental resources.”

Despite the defeat, Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez felt his team could take many positives from their performance.

“There were a lot of players showing passion, character and quality on the pitch, and Aquilani was one of these player,” said Benitez. “He has the quality, but he needs to improve his match-fitness.

“You can see he can pass the ball in the final third, he can make a big difference. He gets closer every day, but still has to improve his match-fitness. It’s a question of time. I think that he will be an important player for us.

“We want to push him, but we cannot push too hard as we know that will be a risk. So we will keep going, keep working and add more minutes every game.”

Liverpool, who like Arsenal made several changes for the match, hope to have striker Fernando Torres fit for the trip to Fulham, although captain Steven Gerrard may struggle.

“Both have to keep going. Gerrard is still working with the physio so we will see,” Benitez said. “Hopefully Torres will be okay, but for Gerrard maybe it is more difficult.”
source