Vale of Resolve

September 24, 2025  Vale Park, Staffordshire

At Vale Park, under cool September skies, Arsenal faced a contest measured less by artistry than by principle. For a club with fourteen FA Cups but only two League Cups — the last in 1993 — the Carabao Cup competition remains unfinished business. The scars of last season’s 4–0 semi-final humiliation by Newcastle still lingered. Reputation, as much as progression, was on the line, and Mikel Arteta made that plain.

Vale Park, with its tight terraces and fervent crowd, has long been unforgiving. Arsenal’s last visit, twenty-seven years ago, went to penalties. This time the breakthrough came swiftly. Eight minutes in, Myles Lewis-Skelly’s instinctive touch released Ebere Eze, who slid a cool finish past Joe Gauci for his first Arsenal goal. From there, Arsenal imposed themselves: Nwaneri curled narrowly wide; Gauci stretched to deny Eze a second.

But the hosts did not fold. Driven on by 16,000 voices, Port Vale pressed forward, forcing Cristhian Mosquera into a desperate clearance and exposing Arsenal’s vulnerability to complacency. These are the moments when giants falter — when lapses or misplaced priorities undo them.

Kepa Arrizabalaga, making his Arsenal debut in goal, remained largely untroubled, while fellow newcomer Christian Nørgaard steadied midfield. Around them, four Hale End graduates — Saka, Lewis-Skelly, Nwaneri, Eze — stitched future to present, a rare sight in modern elite football.

Port Vale sensed opportunity as the game hung in the balance. Devante Cole, son of Andy and once a Hale End boy himself, flashed a shot over Kepa’s bar. Arsenal replied with contrasts: teenager Max Dowman and seasoned Swede Viktor Gyökeres off the bench. They nearly combined for the second, Dowman floating a delicate ball over the top, Gyökeres powering through, Gauci smothering bravely. Dowman impressed most — assured, unfazed, dispossessed only in the 90th minute.

In the end, experience told. William Saliba lifted a ball into space, Leandro Trossard took command, cut inside with precision, and rifled low past Gauci on 85 minutes. It was his third decisive strike from the bench this season, another reminder of his quiet reliability.

Arsenal departed Vale Park with a 2–0 victory. In a competition where arrogance and fatigue so often cost them, Arsenal played with composure.

Port Vale 0 – 2 Arsenal

(E. Eze ‘8, L. Trossard ‘86)