Arsenal welcome League 1 competition to the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday night as they face off against Sunderland in the quarter-final of the Carabao Cup. The domestic cups are the North London club’s only realistic chance at a trophy this season, and they will fancy their chances here, all things considered.
Arsenal are the second-highest scorer in this year’s League Cup; only fellow London club Brentford has scored more in this season’s edition of the competition. The Gunners had a blip in form earlier this month, but have hit back with a vengeance, scoring nine and conceding only one on their way to registering three victories in a row, heading into this fixture.
Arsenal vs Sunderland (League Cup) FYIs:
Kick-off time: 7.45 PM GMT, 21st December 2021
Starting XI Prediction: go here
Form Guide (All Competitions): Arsenal (LLWWW) Sunderland (LDWWD)
With a semi-final place up for grabs, let’s look at the team news for the Gunners.
The big news emanating out of the Emirates Stadium is all about their former captain and star striker Pierre Emerick Aubameyang.
After copping an internal suspension for failing to follow team rules, Arsenal later stripped him of the captaincy.
After being publicly hung out to dry by Mikel Arteta, there seems to be no way back for the Gabonese. It’s safe to say his future seems to lie elsewhere at this point.
The Omicron variant has made its way to the Arsenal change rooms too. Albert Sambi Lokonga and Pablo Mari have both tested positive for the virus, which seems hell-bent on destroying the English footballing calendar.
The site of Japanese international Takehiro Tomiyasu limping off marred the 4-1 victory over Leeds United in the latest round of Premier League fixtures.
He has been ever-present since making the switch to London from Serie A this past summer.
Mikel Arteta had this to say regarding the right-back:
“He’s played every single minute since he joined us and even this week he’s been a little bit struggling. So we decided to take him off. He wasn’t 100% confident to continue in the game and hopefully he’s not injured.”
It’ll be interesting to see the makeup of the Gunners starting eleven. I think regardless of whom they send out there, they should be able to account for League One opposition and book themselves a semi-final place.