Arsenal v Southampton (EFL Cup)

It’s a quarter final, I’m a bit surprised people are talking this one down.

Is it the semi-finals where it gets serious? Or just don’t care about the League Cup?

I think Wenger will rotate significantly a la Forest/Reading but (for me anyway) it is that awkward stage of the competition where you get interested about staying in it.

Martinez, Maitland Niles (bad news for Jenkinson), Gabriel, Holding, Gibbs, Coquelin, Xhaka, Chamberlain, Reine-Adelaide, Iwobi, Perez

A lot of changes but hardly a youth side either. Could be Elneny or Coquelin, hard to ascertain still who Wenger favours right now.

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I agree that we’re likely to rotate and also likely to lose. Advancing gives Soton a big chance to seriously compete for a trophy, which doesn’t happen for them that often, and they’re going to play their first team and be well up for it. Their defense is pretty stifling and they’re very organized in midfield as well so I can see this being a match where our jumbled together side has very little cohesion and we end up losing 1-0 or 2-0.

Have a feeling Southampton will select a near full strength team so I’m tipping them to edge it 2-1.

YES!!

No Ozil or Alexis in the squad.

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Yup, we’re probably going to lose this.

Rather lose it than risk injury to Özil or Alexis in a pointless cup, when they are all that really makes us semi-watchable at this point.

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After seeing how goddamn average we are in truely competitive matches I’m all about the unbeaten streak right now.

would you count our streak ruined if we fielded 11 players who’d never start for us outside the efl and lost? Just curious as I ended up asking myself the same question. I mean obviously per definition it is a loss by the first team, but in a more hand-wavey manner would you count it? I think for me, since I don’t take the cup even nearly as seriously as I do the FA, PL and CL I don’t think I would.

My OCD would.

Got to keep them in reserve for our all important quest for top 4.

I want to win to keep our unbeaten going and because i want to improve our record in the League Cup.

It would be nice to say Wenger has won every national trophy possible when he leaves the club eventually. So yeah. It would be good to win this at least once…

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Martinez

Jenkinson - Holding - Gabriel - Gibbs

Elneny - Coquelin

Chamberlain - Ramsey - Iwobi

Giroud

Giroud is missing with a slight groin problem apparently so swap him with Perez.

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Is Perez even fit enough to start?

If they’re like me they want us to take this seriously because, yeah it’s a quarterfinal, but I doubt Wenger will give this cup any more weight than in previous years. So we’ll probably lose tonight,

I really hope he is.

We dont care about the league cup even in finals (remember chelsea) .
I dont mind experimenting and Im all for putting in yoof ,as long as the team he selects has some balance to it .
To often theres no real cohesion or game plan (let alone leadership) often we do the Arsenal speciality of getting 7-8 men in front of the ball and then lose possession n get spanked on the
break.
Worth the admission money for a glimpse of the yaya !

I think he’ll go with: Martinez, Jenks, Holding, Gabriel, Gibbs, Elneny, Jeff, Ox, Ramsey, Iwobi and Lucas.

AMN may start, but I have no idea in what position.

Good enough to win, but depends what kind of team Southampton put out. Up until now they’ve played mainly reserves with about 3 first team regulars. But with it being the quarter finals and Arsenal, they might step it up a bit.

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No club in the country is winning enough not to be invested in this.

Hope we win.