Arsenal v Southampton: EFL Cup Quarter Final Preview

It's EFL Cup Quarter Final action tonight for Arsenal and a win would leave them within sight of Wembley. So far they have seen off Nottingham Forest and Reading, but it's a step up against Premier League opposition tonight. Southampton might only be a mid table team in the Premier League, but a full strength team from them would be a very tough proposition for a second string Arsenal team.

I suppose it depends on how seriously Southampton treat the game and the chance to get within one round of a Wembley final. I would be pretty sure Arsene Wenger will try his best to change every player who started against Bournemouth on Sunday as he will want his strongest team possible to play West Ham at the weekend. If at all possible he will make 11 changes, but he might not be able to do so given the current injuries.

Certainly he can change all of the starting back four and goalkeeper with Emiliano Martinez, Kieran Gibbs, Karl Jenkinson, Gabriel Paulista and Rob Holding all available. In midfield we could see Francis Coquelin, Aaron Ramsey and Alex Iwobi come in while Jeff Reine Adelaide and Lucas Perez could start in the attacking trio. I wouldn't be surprised to see Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain play even if he did start on Sunday as I still think he needs as much game time as possible.

I'm not sure if Lucas is fit enough to play as he is only just back from the knock he picked up in the last round. With Chuba Akpom injured too I wonder if Yaya Sanogo is still alive and if so could we be privileged enough to get a rare sighting of him. He's a player who has promised so much but seldom delivered due to injuries and just maybe he might get a chance to shine.

Southampton might have the Europa League and their Premier League position to worry about, but I doubt if they will turn their noses up at a chance of making the semi finals. If they play their strongest team tonight they will have to be the favourites to progress and I have a feeling they will play a strong team. That doesn't mean Arsenal aren't in with a chance of winning, but it will certainly make the task a lot tougher.

It's always good to see the youngsters and fringe players get a run and a quarter final exit would be far from a disgrace. I still think they're in with a chance though even against a strong Southampton team and there is still a possibility of a two legged semi final in January to fit in. Once the players come through unscathed I'll be happy and a win would be a nice added bonus too.

Arsenal v Reading: EFL Cup Preview

After the disappointment of only managing a 0-0 draw at home to Middlesbrough on Saturday it's EFL Cup action for Arsenal tomorrow night when they play at home to Reading. As competitions go the EFL Cup is at the bottom of the list of priorities, but that can change as the team progresses through the rounds. They had a comprehensive victory away to Championship side Forest in the last round and they play at home to another Championship side in this round.

The prize for the winner is a place in the quarter finals and it's at that stage that Arsene Wenger might just decide to show a little more interest in the competition. For the moment though it's a chance for the fringe players and reserves to get a run and show what they can do. It means we should see more or less all of the bench from Saturday get a run and a few of them will hopefully take the opportunity to impress.

At the moment I think there could quite easily be a case for Kieran Gibbs winning back his first team place as Nacho Monreal has struggled. If Gibbs can put in a good performance against Reading then he must surely have a chance of keeping his place against Sunderland next Saturday. It looks like the other full back will be Carl Jenkinson who will be making his return after a long term injury. It's good to see him back and it means he will be the back up for Hector Bellerin should the case arise as Mathieu Debuchy seems to be "persona nor grata".

We should also see both Rob Holding and Gabriel Paulista play in central defence and they are two more players who will be eager to make an impression. Holding did well when we had no option other than to play him at the start of the season, but the arrival of Shkodran Mustafi meant he became surplus to requirements in the first choice 11. He's most definitely one for the future though and the early signs are we might have got a real bargain when we signed him from Bolton.

Gabriel missed out on his chance to impress at the start of the season when he picked up an injury and the arrival of Mustafi has seen his chances severely limited too. He would be regarded as the next best option at the moment if either Laurent Koscielny or Mustafi were injured or suspended and the game must surely do him some good. I had very high hopes for him when he arrived at the club, but he hasn't progressed as much as we would have hoped and the form of Mustafi since his arrival won't have done his chances much good.

With Petr Cech taking preference in goal in league games and David Ospina playing in the Champions League we should see Emiliano Martinez get a game. He played in the last round and kept a clean sheet even if he didn't have an awful lot to do. He's another one for the future and it's good to see him get a chance like so many others.

In midfield I think we might see the same combination which we saw against Boro on Saturday with Santi Cazorla slightly injured and Granit Xhaka still suspended. It's another chance for Francis Coquelin to stake a claim for a more permanent place in the team while Mohamed Elneny must surely be glad of another chance to play. He's a player who seems to have dropped back in the pecking order despite impressing so much after he joined last January.

From what the boss has said we will also see Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Alex Iwobi, Jeff Reine-Adelaide and Lucas Perez in the team and that might just make up the starting 11. There's a chance of Chamberlain dropping back to play alongside Elneny or Coquelin which would possibly see Chuba Akpom play as the central striker, but I think Lucas will be the man to play there. Ainsley Maitland-Niles played in defence in the last round, but he might have to sit on the bench tonight even though he took up that position on Saturday too.

It seems Olivier Giroud might be fit to return too, but I imagine he will be on the bench to start at least. We could have done with his attributes on Saturday when we couldn't find a way through the Boro defence and it will be good to see him back in the fold. I've criticised him often enough in the past, but he still has plenty to offer the team.

All in all it's a fairly strong team with a fair deal of youth and some experience too and they have every chance of progressing. I think Reading will give us a much closer run than Forest did in the last round, but a place in the last eight is certainly attainable. It's a competition the boss has never won, but I don't think he should be overly bothered about it.

Given a choice between progressing to the next round and winning at Sunderland on Saturday I know what I would opt for and I have no doubt he would choose the same. Of course there's no reason why we can't win both games and line up a quarter final game as well as keeping pace with the teams at the top of the table. If things don't go our way tomorrow night I won't be overly concerned and it won't be a huge cause for celebration if we make the last eight either.

Of course I want the team to win and continue their unbeaten run in all competitions which stretches back to the second game of the season. A few impressive performances from players looking to get more first team game time wouldn't go astray either and that's certainly something we should be expecting. The most important thing though is for all the players to come through unscathed. I predicted a win on Saturday so I'll keep my predictions to myself this time.

That's it for today.

See you tomorrow.

Arsenal's EFL Cup Game With Nottingham Forest Previewed

Arsenal stuttered at the start of the season, but they are slowly beginning to find some form. A couple of late goals put a nice 4-1 gloss on their win at Hiull on Saturday, but there's still a way to go before they are anywhere near their best. In a long season which could be anything from 50 to 60 games they've only just scratched the surface of the games they have to play.

They make the trip to Nottingham Forest tonight for a game in the least important of the four competitions they are in this season. The EFL Cup is little more than a distraction and an opportunity to give a run out to the fringe players in the first team squad. With that in mind I expect to see plenty of changes in the team to face Forest.

The only player who might return to the squad is Gabriel Paulista who has been injured since before the season began. The rest of the team should be made up of the players on the bench on Saturday and those who didn't make it to the bench. Arsenal should still be able to put out a fairly strong team though and one with every chance to progress to the next round of the competition.

The choice in goal is a straight one between David Ospina and Emilio Martinez with sense saying it should be Ospina who gets the nod. It looks like he's the first choice for our Champions League group games which might be the only reason he might sit this one out. Either way I think the goalkeeper's position is well covered.

In defence I imagine Rob Holding, Kieran Gibbs and maybe even Mathieu Debuchey will play and Gabriel too if he's fit. If Gabriel isn't quite ready to play I wouldn't be surprised to see Shkodran Mustafi play as the more games he gets the better. I've been impressed with him so far and it looks like we might finally have got the top quality central defender we need to play alongside Laurent Koscielny.

In midfield surely we have to see Granit Xhaka and Mohamed Elneny get a run out. Xhaka has had to bide his time since joining, but his time has to come and the sooner the better for me. As for Elneny he seems to have dropped even further down the line and it's difficult to understand why. Of course there are still plenty of games to go and both Xhaka and Elneny will get plenty of chances to prove themselves, but I find it hard to understand why Xhaka in particular isn't one of the first names on the team sheet for every game. 

There are still four places to fill in the team after those players and I fully expect Lucas Perez and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to take two of them with the other two quite possibly going to Jeff Reine-Adelaide and Chuba Akpom. It's a reasonably strong team and one which should have a chance against a Championship team. For me it's about the performance from those players on the night and avoiding injuries.

Last season we went out of the equivalent competition one round later after winning away to Spurs at this stage. We lost away to Sheffield Wednesday on a night to forget when we were well beaten and lost both Chamberlain and Theo Walcott to injuries. If the cost of progress is a couple of injuries this season I would choose elimination from a competition which has never been good to us.

I still have nightmares about the loss to Luton Town in the final in 1988 and I imagine older fans than me have less than fond memories of the 1969 final loss to Swindon Town. There was the 2007 final loss to Chelsea too, the 1968 loss to Leeds and who can forget that awful day against Birmingham in 2011. There were better days too, but not nearly as many as the bad ones.

It will certainly be good to see the fringe players get a run out, but it's never easy to judge a player by how he performs in a second string team. It's easier to judge a player when he gets his chance in a strong line up, but I would be pretty sure those in line to play Chelsea on Saturday will sit this one out. Maybe it's just me, but I would certainly take a defeat against Forest as long as we can take all three points off Chelsea.

That's it for today.

See you tomorrow.