Waching daily Sep 29 2017

BATE Borisov 2-4 Arsenal: Jack Wilshere shines

In a town mostly known for producing tractors, the best of Belarus were ploughed into the ground by the joy-riding young things of Arsenal last night.

It might have been easier, given they led 3-0 and 4-1 and never quite found their highest gears, but it might also have been harder, considering Arsene Wenger embarked on this 2,700-mile round trip with precious few of his big names.

A risk of getting stuck in the mud? Quite possibly with opposition that has beaten Bayern Munich and Roma on this ground in recent years. A hazard well navigated? Certainly.

And all delivered with a squad that included no fewer than nine players aged 20 or younger, with Reiss Nelson dumping one opponent on his face in the first half and Joe Willock playing such a merry tune on his first start that the mission to silence him included a nasty elbow in the face from Nemanja Milunovic.

But as good as the kids were, this was a night for the last crop of teenage stars touted to be kings.

Theo Walcott scored twice, before further goals from Rob Holding and Olivier Giroud, though the real bright spark was Jack Wilshere. He was excellent, just as he was in the Carabao Cup win over Doncaster last week.

These are early days to judge his latest recovery, and perspective is needed in light of the opposition, but he tore BATE Borisov to ribbons here. With his contract up next summer, he is gradually playing his way back into Wenger's affections.

Wenger said: 'He was outstanding in the first half and he fought until the end. He is on his way back to his best and showed that here.

He is 25, an age where a player normally gets to the best of his career and he has only been stopped by a series of injuries.

'I just pray he is not hampered any more by problems because he will get stronger and stronger. He has shown tonight he has not lost any football.'.

It was Wilshere who made the first for Walcott on nine minutes, after a one-two with Giroud took out three defenders.

A goalkeeping calamity created the second, with Denis Scherbitski passing straight to Walcott, who lashed in his third goal in two games.

Like Wilshere, he was the bright young thing once and now he is making his own loud argument for his worth. The third was shunted in by Holding before Borisov pulled one back from Mirko Ivanic's header.

Giroud buried his 100th Arsenal goal with a penalty on 49 minutes after Stanislav Dragun pulled down Shkodran Mustafi.

'I just congratulated him for a remarkable achievement,' said Wenger. 'When you play football the most difficult thing is to score goals and he scored 100 for us.'.