Arsenal go from the frenetic title-impacting clash with Liverpool to a game perhaps totally at the other end of the spectrum, yet for many fans is equal in importance. The Gunners travel to Preston North End for their fourth-round League Cup clash with a chance to reach the quarter-finals for the first time since 2022 when they managed to progress to the semi-finals before being eliminated by Liverpool.
The competition has been a disappointment for more than three decades with the last victory in the competition coming in 1993. While certainly at the bottom of Mikel Arteta’s priorities with the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup above it, winning a major trophy has not been achieved since 2020 and this has only raised the pressure on the manager.
What is perhaps so interesting about this game is with so many question marks over player fitness and availability, rotating the squad for a fixture with lower-league opposition creates many challenges and questions.
With Neto cup-tied and David Raya available, unlike in the third round when Jack Porter made his debut against Bolton, the Spaniard must come in. Even now Tommy Setford, the young stopper signed in the summer from Ajax, is now fit having also been out injured, it makes sense for Raya to continue.
