Luton Town’s eighteen-game scoring streak in the Premier League was halted by Arsenal as the Hatters slumped to a 2-0 defeat at the Emirates Stadium in midweek. The result was an important one for Arsenal, who named a much-changed XI for this clash, with the likes of Reiss Nelson, Thomas Partey and Emile Smith-Rowe all given rare starts for the hosts.
It was Smith-Rowe who was instrumental in setting up the Gunners’ first of the evening. He nicked the ball off Pelly Ruddock in the middle of the park, and Luton were punished as Martin Odegaard produced a nice finish into the bottom corner to make it 1-0.
Smith-Rowe also had a hand in the second- it was his cross that was turned in by Luton’s Japanese defender Daiki Hashioka for an own goal just before half time.
With the result of the game beyond doubt, Arsenal could afford to have a quiet second half- they had just two shots after the interval in comparison to the eleven they had before it. Injury-hit Luton didn’t really threaten them, and David Raya had a relatively relaxed evening in goal.
Mikel Arteta’s side will now travel to Brighton this weekend while Luton will have home advantage against Bournemouth.
