Arsenal went galloping into the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup by sweeping Blackpool aside in the last-16 at the Emirates.
The deadlock was broken by Stephan Lichtsteiner just after the 30-minute mark when the veteran full-back found himself way up in nosebleed territory, duly nudging in Matteo Guendouzi’s smart through-ball…
As well as being his first for the club, the goal also earned Lichtsteiner a minor record by making him the oldest Arsenal player (34 years, 288 days) to score in almost 10 years.
The Swiss veteran pipped Sol Campbell, who was 136 days younger when he netted against Porto in 2010…
34y 288d – Stephan Lichtsteiner is the oldest player to score a competitive goal for Arsenal since Sol Campbell scored aged 35 years 152 days against FC Porto in February 2010. Seniority.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) 31 October 2018
The Gunners went on to score again through 18-year-old Emile Smith-Rowe (’50) thus ensuring one of the biggest age gaps between two consecutive goalscorers in a good long while.
The home side continued cruising until Guendouzi saw red for a second booking shortly thereafter (’56) before proceedings were further disrupted when Paudie O’Connor headed home a corner to pull one back for the Tangerines (’66).
However, the Premier League side were able to out-muscle their League One visitors to ride out the remainder of the match, with the job made all the easier five minutes from time when O’Connor was also dismissed for hacking down substitute Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.