EFL Cup: Arsenal 5-0 Nottingham Forest: Martinelli opens account as Arsenal cruise into fourth round

London, September 25: Gabriel Martinelli opened his Arsenal account with a double on his first start as Kieran Tierney enjoyed a successful debut in a 5-0 EFL Cup third-round thrashing of Nottingham Forest on Tuesday (September 24).

Unai Emery completely changed his starting XI from the side that beat Aston Villa 3-2 in the Premier League on Sunday (September 24) but a youthful Gunners side dominated throughout at Emirates Stadium.

Tierney, playing in his first game since recovering from groin injury following his transfer from Celtic, was rarely tested at left-back as Arsenal's defence enjoyed a comfortable evening.

Forest, sixth in the Championship, offered little as an attacking force and their defence was breached 31 minutes in when 18-year-old Martinelli headed in his first goal for the club.

Rob Holding, making his return after nearly 10 months out with a knee problem, converted from a corner in the 71st minute to put the game beyond any doubt.

Joe Willock and the excellent Reiss Nelson got in on the act before Martinelli doubled his tally with the aid of a deflection in stoppage-time.

18 - Gabriel Martinelli (18y 98d) is the youngest player to score on their first start for Arsenal since Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain against Shrewsbury in September 2011 (18y 36d). Fresh. pic.twitter.com/Vs21rOVmtP

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) September 24, 2019

The woodwork denied Arsenal an early breakthrough as Nelson's low free-kick struck the right-hand post, but he was instrumental as the hosts took the lead in style.

Nelson lifted a wonderful cross-field ball out to Calum Chambers, whose superb volleyed cross was headed confidently into the top-right corner by Martinelli.

Emile Smith Rowe was denied when his close-range header was parried by Forest goalkeeper Aro Muric, with the winger then taken off on a stretcher after colliding with Jack Robinson as he met Tierney's cross.

Willock wasted a gilt-edged chance to double the lead with a woeful header from point-blank range but Holding made no mistake when poor marking allowed him to emphatically dispatch a Nelson corner.

Tierney was replaced in the 77th minute by Hector Bellerin, who 58 seconds later marked his first appearance since sustaining a knee injury in January with an assist, teeing up Willock to atone for his earlier miss with a simple finish after more sloppy set-piece defending from Forest.

The overlapping Chambers set up Nelson for a deserved fourth, Muric unable to keep out the shot despite getting both hands to it.

There was nothing he could do, however, when an 18-yard effort from Martinelli took a heavy deflection off Chema Rodriguez and flew into the top-right corner to round off the rout.