Arsenal’s Carabao Cup adventure ended rather abruptly last season, with Mikel Arteta’s losing at the first hurdle when Brighton visited the Emirates in the Third Round. That denied Arteta the opportunity to feature some fringe players, as his first team were strongly focused on their Premier League title challenge.
A new League Cup campaign has commenced, and the Gunners have been scheduled to take on Bolton Wanderers in the Third Round of the competition. The Bolton boss, Ian Evatt, has stated that that he wouldn’t try to adopt any alien tactics tomorrow night, but the expectations are for Arsenal to get a handsome victory over the lower tier side.
Mikel Arteta will be expected to heavily rotate the squad, especially with the physical exertions from the last pulsating encounter against Manchester City that saw Arteta’s men put up a defensive masterclass following Leandro Trossard’s unfortunate red card.
Predicted starting lineup for the Carabao Cup clash with Bolton
There are a handful of fringe players like Jakub Kiwior, Raheem Sterling, Gabriel Jesus and Jorginho within the squad that have found playing time hard to come by. This game also provides a brooding ground for the likes of Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly to get some valuable game time alongside their more experienced teammates.
The squad is still plagued with a plethora of injuries, so I’d expect Arteta to have the perfect blend of youth and experience.
Defense
With Tommy Setford nursing an injury as well as Neto Murara cup-tied for featuring in Bournemouth’s Carabao Cup clash in the last round, David Raya will be expected to stay between the sticks for this encounter. I wouldn’t expect Ben White to feature in such a game, especially after Arteta confirmed that he’s nursing an injury, so I expect to see a back four of Riccardo Calafiori, Jakub Kiwior, Ayden Heaven and Jurrien Timber.
Midfield
Arsenal is desperately short in midfield with a litany of injuries, and Trossard’s suspension wouldn’t help matters as well. I would expect Jorginho to lead the team and play alongside Thomas Partey and Nwaneri. This game should give us a glimpse of Nwaneri featuring in the Martin Odegaard position, which is highly welcome.
Forwards
Gabriel Jesus is desperately in need of a goal, with his last strike for Arsenal coming in January 2024. I will expect him to spearhead the attack with Gabriel Martinelli and Raheem Sterling providing width from the flanks.
This should be a very good run out for the lads and I hope they can bag a hatful of goals before shifting gears to Premier League action against Leicester in the weekend.
