So Arsenal faced Championship side Reading in the round of 16 in the EFL Cup at the Emirates on Tuesday night with the game certainly being a potential banana skin for the Gunners. To be fair Reading played a very good first half hour and there was little to choose between the two clubs, but after Reading looking so comfortable manager Jaap Stam would have been well annoyed after his side seemed to gift the opening goal to Arsenal on 33 minutes.

The goal came after Reading keeper Ali Al Habsi tried to overplay the ball with his feet and put his defence under severe pressure. The resulting pressure told as the Gunners pressed high and won back the ball before Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain nipped into the penalty box and smashed a shot into the bottom far corner of the Reading goal, beating Al Habsi easily and sending the Arsenal fans into ecstacy.

In the second half Reading were still in the game after their solid first half and they seemed to be lifted by a Harriot deflected shot that came close to going in just before the half-time whistle. This seemed to spur Reading on as they came out for the second half giving it a go. Arsenal also started the 2nd stanza in a positive way with Lucas Perez at the heart of most of the danger as he set up the Ox who narrowly fired over the bar with a deflected strike. Perez then hustled to win a Gunners corner with Reading feeling the heat a little.

Emiliano Martinez the Gunners keeper for the night was not a total spectator on the night as he was called upon to snuff out some Reading chances. With about 30 minutes to go Arsene Wenger turned to one of his big guns on the bench sending Olivier Giroud on for the young French midfielder Jeff Reine-Adelaide. It was not long before Giroud thought he had scored with Al Habsi clawing the ball away from the goal before a Reading defender cleared it. Again Al Habsi came to the rescue as he made another fine save to deny the dangerous Oxlade-Chamberlain’s powerful drive.

On 78 minutes man-of-the-match Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain sealed the game for Arsenal as he fired a booming drive from way out which was fortunate to take a deflection off a Reading player as it flew in to Al Habsi’s net – 2-0 Arsenal.

So Arsenal move onto the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup and more importantly get back to winning ways with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain the star man. Long may he continue to play so well.