Arsenal moved into the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup with a comfortable win at Championship side Preston North End.
Gunners’ boss Mikel Arteta, who handed 18-year-old goalkeeper Tommy Setford a debut, saw his much-changed side dominate throughout.
Gabriel Jesus opened the scoring for the visitors midway through the first half, with an emphatic close-range finish after Jakub Kiwior had nodded down Gabriel Martinelli’s delivery to the back post.
Arsenal’s 17-year-old midfielder Ethan Nwaneri doubled their lead before the break, collecting Jesus’ pass and dispatching a curling effort into the top corner from 18 yards to finish off a flowing move down the right.
Half-time substitute Kai Havertz rounded off the scoring for the Londoners before the hour mark, heading past Freddie Woodman from Kiwior’s cross from the left.
With a clear gulf in class between the two sides, on another evening Arsenal’s margin of victory could have been even greater.
However, the performance of Woodman, who made one superb double save from Raheem Sterling, limited the damage for the hosts.
Preston’s defeat means there are only Premier League sides left in the competition.
