Coming fresh from the back of a defeat in the hands of Leicester City over the weekend, Mikel Arteta made a big shuffle to his side, making room for a number of youngsters.
New goalkeeper Alex Runarsson made his debut between the sticks and it did not take us so long to see him in action on just one of the few times he had to do so. The Iceland man went low to tip over an attempt from Patrick McEleney in the fourth minute.
Who was on top in that game is not a topic that would qualify for a debate. The Gunners controlled play to the maximum leaving the Lilywhites with no option other than to mount a rugged defence line.
We played our free flowing football, restricted them to their half for long with the only frustration being our inability to break clear of their backline to secure a goal. Our dominance in the first half did not show in the number of clear-cut chances we had prior to breaking the deadlock.
The first half almost went empty but we were able to get reward for our persistence towards the close of it. Eddie Nketiah had earlier missed a very close one so the opener was more like an atonement for his sin.
Three minutes to halftime, Rogers had made a move to punch away a corner kick from the left. He misses the ball which then falls into the path of Nketiah with the only task required being a tap in. He did not fail to do that into the empty bet.
It didn't take two minutes from the first before we earned our second when Joe Willock sent the ball in following a blocked Pepe shot which was assisted by Nketiah. We ended the half on a good note as we looked forward to another productive half.
We resumed well by adding another as soon as the second period began. Willock moved the ball into the box, cut it back to Pepe who rolled it on before smashing one into the top right corner. The visiting goalie had no chance on this one.
That was all on the goal front for the night and the rest of the half stretched on same way the first started - goalless. Arteta no longer needed to employ the services of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette.
He was about doing so when it looked like we were not going to score but had a change of mind when we started banging in. We have a big game for Sunday and they will be better off in there when we visit Old Trafford to battle with Manchester United.
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