eplmatches.com

Arsenal’s youngsters produced another outstanding display to brush aside Wigan and book their place in the Carling Cup quarter-finals.

A pinpoint pass from Luke Wilshere set up fellow teenager Jay Simpson to poke home on his first start for the club.

They added a second when a blistering counter-attack ended with Carlos Vela squaring for Simpson to sidefoot home.

Vela outpaced Titus Bramble before chipping Chris Kirkland with a stunning lob to complete the scoring.

The Mexican’s finish was reminiscent of his breathtaking effort in the demolition of Sheffield United in the previous round.

It was met by joyful appreciation from manager Arsene Wenger on the sidelines and it was hardly surprising after seeing his side, with an average age of just 19, take apart a Wigan side full of Premier League experience.

Wenger stuck with 10 of the side that demolished the Blades in the previous round, with the one addition of Simpson making it eight teenagers in the starting line-up.

They looked nervous in the opening stages and keeper Lukasz Fabianski was less than convincing in coming a long way out of his goal to try and collect a long throw only to completely miss the ball.

But it was his opposite number Chris Kirkland who was the busier of the two goalkeepers throughout.

1-0 Simpson 42′

2-0 Simpson 66′

3-0 Vela 70′