FIVE things we learned from the Capital One Cup

What caught our eye last night at SillySeason?

5) Mathieu Flamini becomes a derby hero

Cup competitions, particularly the Capital One Cup, normally mean that Arsene Wenger makes several changes to his Arsenal side.

That routine didn’t change last night, even if they were playing their nearest and dearest in Tottenham Hotspur. The likes of Calum Chambers, Mikel Arteta and Joel Campbell all started for the Gunners.

Another one of those changes was Mathieu Flamini. Over the years the Frenchman has built a reputation by being a hard-tackling holding midfielder.

However, you wouldn’t associate him with goalscoring…until last night.

The 31-year old scored two goals, including an excellent volley, which saw Arsenal knock Spurs out of the League Cup; and for those Arsenal fans, it doesn’t get better than winning at White Hart Lane.

4) Spurs NEED a striker

Actually, two of the five things we learned last night came from the North London derby.

The second is the fact that Spurs are not scoring many goals. They are relying too much on Harry Kane who is struggling to replicate the scintillating form he produced last term.

If they had another centre forward then maybe they could give Kane a rest or the competition could see the the England international raise his game.

However, they don’t have many options in this department. New signings Clinton N’Jie and Heung-min Son can score goals but they are not out-and-out front men.

The decision to not buy another striker in the summer transfer window may come back to bite the Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino.

3) Brendan Rodgers is still under pressure

After losing at home to West Ham United, crumbling away to arch-rivals Manchester United and being held to a draw at Anfield by Norwich City, Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers had his back to the wall.

The Northern Irishman would have seen the home tie against Carlisle United as a chance for a big win, but that was not how it played out.

The Reds drew 1-1 after full time and extra time at home to the team that had conceded the most goals in League Two and needed to lottery of penalties to progress to the next round.

They almost made a hash of the penalties too. New goalkeeper Adam Bogdan spared the blushes of Adam Lallana and Phillipe Coutinho who missed in the shootout. Liverpool scraped through by the skin of their teeth.

Rodgers is now under severe pressure going into the Premier League fixture against Aston Villa, especially as Jurgen Klopp is rumoured to be in attendance.

2) Martial is proving his worth

Manchester United sailed comfortably into the next round after they saw off Ipswich Town 3-0 at Old Trafford.

Club captain Wayne Rooney bagged a brace during the win, but all the talk was about their new teenage hit-man Anthony Martial.

The 19-year old scored his fourth goal in three games since his big money move from Monaco and looks as if he could have gone from overpriced to a bargain in a matter of weeks.

It remains to be seen if he can keep up this fantastic form, but it looks as if United have unearthed a gem.

1) Newcastle in big trouble

It took a Newcastle United win on the final game of last season to keep them in Premier League.

BUT with a new manager coming in and the club spending £52 million in the summer, the Geordie faithful were maybe expecting a better campaign this time round.

However, it hasn’t started in a promising manner and they are still winless after Championship club Sheffield Wednesday knocked the Magpies out the League Cup.

The Owls won 1-0 at St James’ Park to heap more misery on Steve McLaren.

The Toon army are hoping their fortunes will turn around sooner rather than later, as they are currently second bottom of the top flight table with just two points.

Only their fierce rivals Sunderland are below them thanks to their awful goal difference.