London: Theo Walcott and Nicklas Bendtner made goalscoring returns from injury as Arsenal thrashed Newcastle United 4-0 away to reach the last eight of the League Cup.
Also through to the quarter-finals are West Ham United, who came from behind to beat Stoke City 3-1, and Aston Villa, who beat Championship (second division) Burnley 2-1 at Villa Park, both after extra-time.
Despite the lure of a Europa League place for the winners of England`s "third trophy," most clubs continue to treat it as a chance to try out young players and give run-outs to squad members -- as well as those on the comeback trail from injury.
That certainly worked out well for Arsene Wenger, without a trophy for five years.
At the end of a frantic first half, Bendtner, making his first start of the season after recovering from a groin problem, thumped a header goalwards and Ryan Taylor`s attempt to clear it ended with the ball bouncing off his goalkeeper Tim Krul and over the line.Walcott, in his first start since injuring his ankle playing for England in early September, broke clear to put Arsenal two up eight minutes into the second half.
Bendtner completed his busy night when he collected a pass from substitute Cesc Fabregas to cut in and curl home an excellent third goal four minutes from time, with Walcott adding a breakaway fourth in stoppage-time.
West Ham briefly lifted some of the gloom surrounding the Premier League`s bottom club with their win.
Kenwyne Jones headed Stoke into an early lead, Scott Parker equalised six minutes from time and Mark Noble proved the key man in extra-time as he set up goals for Manuel da Costa and Victor Obinna.
Emile Heskey came off the bench to fire Villa ahead in the 86th minute of their game against Burnley but Clark Carlisle equalised in the last minute.Winger Stewart Downing blasted Villa back into the lead after six minutes of extra-time but they had to hang on for the last 20 after Marc Albrighton was sent off.
Birmingham City, Wigan Athletic, West Bromwich Albion, Manchester United and Championship Ipswich Town were already through to the last eight and the draw for the quarter-finals will be made on Saturday.
Bureau League
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Cookies Setting
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device and the processing of information obtained via those cookies (including about your preferences, device and online activity) by us and our commercial partners to enhance site navigation, personalise ads, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. More information can be found in our Cookies and Privacy Policy. You can amend your cookie settings to reject non-essential cookies by clicking Cookie Settings below.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work or you may not be able to login.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advert as well as help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we may not know when you have visited our site, and may not be able to monitor its performance.