Arsenal host Brighton in the Carabao Cup with Mikel Arteta’s side flying at the top of the Premier League.
The Gunners are desperate for silverware though, after a five-year drought since the FA Cup victory over Chelsea, with another solid victory last weekend over Crystal Palace.
Arteta rotates heavily as he balances league and cup campaigns, handing starts to youngsters Max Dowman and Andre Harriman-Annous and giving a few other fringe figures chances to impress. Dowman becomes Arsenal’s youngest ever starter.
The Seagulls, meanwhile, enter the contest off the back of a defeat at Manchester United, with Fabian Hurzeler hoping to guide the club into a position to win their first major trophy.
Follow all of the latest in our live blog below:
Fabian Hurzeler expecting tight contest
Fabian Hurzeler believes that the nature of a cup competition could play in Brighton’s favour this evening.
“Cup competitions are always a big motivation because it gives you a chance to win a title,” Hurzeler explained ahead of the fourth-round clash. “Arsenal is the favourite, but the cup games are always 50-50. You always have a chance.
“We had two draws against them last season so of course that gives you confidence, but it doesn’t mean you get to the next round. They are the best team in the league, but we have to believe that we are capable of beating them. If it goes to a penalty shoot-out we are ready. We practice penalties every day.”
Pep Guardiola’s ideology is dead. So where does football go next?
Earlier in October, Miguel Delaney, our Chief Football Writer, tried his best to parse the new tactical phase of football and the trends that could come to define the next few years.
Tony Pulis claims he applied ‘same principles’ as Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal
There’s been a slightly old-school feel to English football this season, a few tactics of yesteryear back en vogue – Tony Pulis feels vindicated at the vanguard:
Mikel Arteta details plan for Arsenal starlet Max Dowman
Teenager Max Dowman becomes Arsenal’s youngest ever starter tonight. The midfielder is a player who appears to have a very bright future – as Mikel Arteta outlined yesterday:
Team news – Brighton
Brighton XI: Steele; Boscagli, Coppola, Van Hecke, Kadioglu; Baleba, Gomez; Rutter, De Cuyper; Tzimas, Kostoulas.
Team news – Arsenal
Young Max Dowman and Andre Harriman-Annous are given starts in a heavily-changed Arsenal side.
Arsenal XI: Kepa; White, Mosquera, Hincapie, Lewis-Skelly; Norgaard, Merino; Nwaneri, Dowman, Eze; Harriman-Annous.
Team news on the way…
Righty ho – we should have team news sharpish from the Emirates, with Arsenal confirmed to be without a couple of key figures and perhaps rotating out a few more…
Who is in the hat?
League One Cardiff are the eye-catching side already in the hat for tonight’s draw after beating Wrexham in an all-Welsh tie last night – can Swansea join their rivals in the last eight? It’s a tall task against Manchester City for the Swans this evening.
1. Brentford
2. Cardiff City
4. Arsenal or Brighton & Hove Albion
5. Liverpool or Crystal Palace
6. Newcastle United or Tottenham Hotspur
7. Swansea City or Manchester City
8. Wolverhampton Wanderers or Chelsea
Quarter-final place on the line
The Carabao Cup quarter-final draw will follow tonight’s proceedings. Here’s everything you need to know:
Brighton bid to bounce back
To the visitors, then, and Brighton’s very aesthetically pleasing record of three wins, three draws, and three defeats from nine Premier League games so far – although Fabian Hurzeler’s side were the latest to feel the force of a revived Manchester United at the weekend.
