Even though they struggled to impose themselves early on, Arsenal ran out comfortable winners against Coventry City in the Capital One Cup this evening, recording a 6-1 scoreline as several players who have been on the fringes so far this campaign came to the fore.

Theo Walcott and Andrey Arshavin, painfully frustrating in the first-half, were exuberant in the second, with the Russian scoring once and heavily involved in the creation of several other goals, whilst Walcott pounced on a tiring visiting defence to deliver two expert finishes.

Olivier Giroud got Arsenal off and running with a fine finish just before the break to score his first Arsenal goal, although the Frenchman later missed a penalty, but Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain also scored with a super strike whilst Ignasi Miquel, who put in a superb shift at centre-back alongside Johan Djourou, headed home emphatically to add further gloss to the scoreline.

Arsene Wenger handed debuts to goalkeeper Damian Martinez and defender Martin Angha, whilst Hector Bellerin, Thomas Eisfeld and Serge Gnabry made the bench, although only the latter got on, impressing with his trademark enthusiasm and having a couple of efforts blocked.

The hefty scoreline was barely feasible as the clock ticked down towards half-time. Coventry had stuck to their task manfully up until that point, starting well much in the same manner as Shrewsbury Town at this stage of the competition last season.

Arsenal created a couple of half-chances but also had to be wary at the back, and a measure of their frustration came in the fact that it took them until the 35th minute to register their first meaningful opportunity, when Giroud slipped a shot wide.

The former Montpellier man was merely finding his range and, shortly afterwards, put the ball in the back of the net, finishing adroitly after Francis Coquelin won the ball with typical tenaciousness and threaded it forward.

The goal certainly gave Arsenal some much-needed confidence and, with that, the tempo of their play, which had hitherto been somewhat stagnant, was greatly increased. The turgid opening half-an-hour or so was quickly forgotten as Arsenal went into the break in front.

The Gunners went into the second period revitalised and, after a period of sustained pressure, were provided with the opportunity to double their advantage when Arshavin, who had woken from his first-half slumber, was clumsily brought down in the area. Giroud, seeking another goal, stepped up to take it, but was forced into an unexpected delay when a couple of intruders, not for the first time in this competition, entered the field of play.

The Arsenal stewards were slower than Sebastien Squillaci on a night out in dealing with the gatecrashers, with Andre Santos eventually having to intervene. By that time, Giroud had perhaps lost his concentration as his subsequent spot-kick was easily palmed away.

Oxlade-Chamberlain then spared Giroud’s blushes by making it 2-0 with a superb strike from distance, before Arshavin converted expertly from Giroud’s cut-back and Walcott scored twice late on, his second finish in particular one of superb quality. In between those two goals Miquel had also scored his first senior goal for the club with a thumping header befitting a committed and composed performance from the Spaniard.

There was a huge cheer as Emmanuel Frimpong came on as part of a triple substitution also involving Gnabry and Marouane Chamakh, with the midfielder looking in rather fine fettle considering he has been sidelined for so long. The 20 year old will continue his rehabilitation when the U-21s take on West Bromwich Albion next week, where he could be joined by Jack Wilshere.

As far as stand-out performances are concerned, Miquel certainly will take his fair share of plaudits, having been authoritative at the back whilst also possessing a regular attacking threat, particularly from set-pieces. With three established centre-backs, as well as Johan Djourou, who also impressed, ahead of him, Miquel may not see much game time this season but certainly looks ready for a loan spell having worked hard to improve his consistency and concentration.

Nico Yennaris, the mascot the last time Arsenal hosted Coventry, worked hard in central midfield alongside Francis Coquelin, although the deployment of two defensive-minded midfielders did seem to somewhat stifle Arsenal’s creativity in the first-half.

Martinez delivered a composed performance in goal, despite Coventry finding the net. The Argentinian commanded his penalty area well and, even though he wasn’t regularly tested, still made a couple of good interventions. Angha, meanwhile, did not particularly impress at right-back, with his crosses often wayward and wingers getting the better of him on several occasions, but he should not be too harshly criticised given it was his first-team debut.

The attacking quartet of Walcott, Arshavin, Oxlade-Chamberlain and Giroud all got on the scoresheet, even though they all had a minimal impact in the opening half-an-hour as Arsenal struggled to gain a foothold on proceedings. Oxlade-Chamberlain was not heavily involved throughout, but, when he was, his contribution was often spectacular, whilst Giroud demonstrated good hold-up play and tactical awareness.

Chamakh even looked a lot brighter than previously despite not having scored for over a year now, but this was an excellent result for Arsenal capping an impressive second-half performance.

The fact that the Gunners have been pitted away to a Premier League side, albeit a newly-promoted one in Reading, in the next round of the Cup may mean that fewer youngsters will feature next time around, but Arsenal’s journey to Wembley, hopefully one that won’t end as painfully as the excursion in 2010/11, is well underway.