Today’s match!! Arsenal versus Bolton – Arsenal 4-4-2 formation with Jorginho. Round 3 Carabao Cup 24/25
The EFL Cup, one of Arsenal’s least popular tournaments in recent years, returns to the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday evening, with the Gunners hosting Bolton Wanderers in the third round.
While the Gunners skipped the previous two rounds, their opponents had to overcome Mansfield Town and Shrewsbury Town to get a glamor tie with Mikel Arteta’s side.
Arsenal, a team that was frequently chastised for being easy to bully in the final stages of Arsene Wenger’s reign, traded their soft underbelly for the ‘dark arts’ against Premier League title rivals Manchester City on Sunday, tactics that almost paid off at a stadium where they had not won since January 2015.
Arteta’s ten men fought with heart and courage for the whole second half, only to lose two points in the most excruciating way conceivable, as John Stones bundled in the Citizens’ latest equalising goal in Premier League history in a dramatic 2-2 draw.
Arsenal’s bus-parking tactics at the Etihad Stadium divided public opinion, but with 10 men away from home against Manchester City, no one could realistically criticize the Gunners for switching to a 5-4-0 formation after Riccardo Calafiori and Gabriel Magalhaes cancelled out Erling Haaland’s 100th City goal in the first half.
Arsenal, who are still only two points behind Pep Guardiola’s charges after maintaining their unbeaten start, will now turn their attention to a competition that they have only won twice in their history – and not since 1993 – in order to avoid a repeat of last season’s fourth-round elimination at the hands of West Ham.
However, Arsenal’s last two EFL Cup games at the Emirates Stadium have resulted in defeats to Liverpool and Bolton Wanderers, implying that the Gunners have not won a home game in the competition since 2021, when former Hale End star Charlie Patino scored in a 5-1 Sunderland thrashing.
Arsenal’s two EFL Cup victories in 1987 and 1993 still surpass those of visiting Bolton, who have never won the tournament and are attempting to end a 66-year major trophy drought this season, having last won a piece of silverware in the 1958 Community Shield.
The League One participants, however, have already achieved their best EFL Cup result since the 2017-18 season, defeating Mansfield Town on penalties in the first round and defeating Shrewsbury Town 2-0 in the second round, with ex-Arsenal youngster Jordi Osei-Tutu scoring.
However, the Trotters have not gone beyond the third round of the EFL Cup since the 2011-12 season, when they were eliminated by Arsenal in the last 16, and inconsistency has been the trend for Ian Evatt’s side this season.
Indeed, Bolton’s previous six matches in all competitions have followed a loss-win pattern, as they followed up a humiliating 4-0 home defeat to Huddersfield Town on September 14 with a 5-2 thrashing of Reading at the weekend, with Dion Charles scoring three goals in the first half.
Bolton now reunites with Arsenal 12 years after their last meeting, a goalless Premier League draw in 2011-12, in which Andrey Arshavin and Park Chu-Young cancelled out Fabrice Muamba’s opener in the EFL Cup last 16 earlier that year.
Arsenal’s hard-earned point against Manchester City came at a high cost; David Raya, Calafiori, and Jurrien Timber were all suffering from cramps/knocks in the dying moments of the game, while Leandro Trossard followed Declan Rice’s bad example by being sent off for kicking the ball away while already on a booking.
The Belgian will serve his one-game suspension on Wednesday, joining Mikel Merino (shoulder), Martin Odegaard (ankle), Takehiro Tomiyasu (knee), Oleksandr Zinchenko (calf), and Kieran Tierney (hamstring) on the Arsenal bench. Furthermore, on-loan Bournemouth goalkeeper Neto is cup-tied, placing Arteta in a difficult goalkeeping situation if Raya misses out.
Arsenal’s senior options for change are quite limited right now, therefore Arteta might start Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly, the latter of whom received a yellow card before making his Premier League debut in the Man City game.
In contrast, Bolton had a successful afternoon against Reading, with no new injuries, however Osei-Tutu will be unable to return to his previous club due to a knee injury.
The 25-year-old, who has yet to make a senior appearance for Arsenal, is joined in the treatment room by Carlos Mendes Gomes (Achilles), Klaidi Lolos (ankle), Gethin Jones (knee), and Will Forrester, who broke one toe and dislocated another while falling down stairs.
The visitors’ team has only one player above the age of 30: former Burnley and Rangers midfielder Scott Arfield, who might be promoted to the first XI due to his vital experience.
Arsenal’s likely starting lineup: Raya; White, Heaven, Kiwior, Lewis-Skelly; S Oulad M’Hand, Jorginho; Saka, Nwaneri, Sterling; Jesus.
Bolton Wanderers’ likely starting lineup: Southwood; Toal, Johnston, Santos; Dacres-Cogley, Thomason, Arfield, Dempsey, Schon; Adeboyejo, Charles.
