One of Arsenal's least favoured competitions in recent times, the EFL Cup returns to the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday evening, as the Gunners host Bolton Wanderers in the third round.
While the Gunners bypassed the first two rounds, their visitors have already had to navigate their way past Mansfield Town and Shrewsbury Town to set up a glamour tie with Mikel Arteta's men.
Match preview
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A team that were often called out for being easy to bully during the closing stages of the Arsene Wenger reign, Arsenal swapped their soft underbelly for the 'dark arts' against Premier League title rivals Manchester City on Sunday, tactics that so nearly paid dividends at a ground where they had not won since January 2015.
Arteta's 10 men defended with heart and courage for the entirety of the second half, only to drop two points in the most agonising fashion possible, as John Stones bundled in the Citizens' latest equalising goal on record in the Premier League in a gripping 2-2 stalemate.
Arsenal's bus-parking tactics at the Etihad certainly divided public opinion, but with 10 men away from home against Man City, no-one could realistically knock the Gunners for adopting a 5-4-0 shape after Riccardo Calafiori and Gabriel Magalhaes cancelled out Erling Haaland's 100th Citizens goal in the first half.
Still just two points adrift of Pep Guardiola's charges on account of maintaining their unbeaten start, Arsenal now switch their focus to a competition that they have only won twice in their history - and not since 1993 - as they endeavour to avoid a repeat of last season's fourth-round elimination versus West Ham United.
However, Arsenal's last two EFL Cup games at the Emirates Stadium have ended in defeat to Liverpool and Bolton Wanderers, meaning that the Gunners have not actually won a home match in the competition since 2021, when former Hale End star Charlie Patino was among the scorers in a 5-1 Sunderland slaughter.
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Arsenal's pair of EFL Cup triumphs in 1987 and 1993 still trumps that of visitors Bolton, who have never conquered the competition and have a 66-year major trophy drought to try to end this term, having last earned a slice of silverware in the 1958 Community Shield.
The League One participants have already achieved their best result in the EFL Cup since the 2017-18 season, though, having edged out Mansfield Town on penalties in the opening round before a 2-0 victory over Shrewsbury Town in the second round, where ex-Arsenal youngster Jordi Osei-Tutu was on target.
However, not since the 2011-12 campaign have the Trotters progressed further than the third round of the EFL Cup, where their run was coincidentally brought to an end by Arsenal in the last 16, and inconsistency has been the theme for Ian Evatt's men so far this season.
Indeed, Bolton's last six matches across all tournaments have seen the visitors follow a loss-win pattern, as they followed up a humiliating 4-0 home defeat to Huddersfield Town on September 14 with a 5-2 drubbing of Reading at the weekend, as Dion Charles hit a first-half hat-trick.
Lying in a lowly 18th place in the League One table with just two wins from six, Bolton now reunite with Arsenal 12 years on from their last meeting - a goalless Premier League draw in 2011-12 - prior to which Andrey Arshavin and Park Chu-Young cancelled out a Fabrice Muamba opener in the EFL Cup last 16 earlier that year.
Team News
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Arsenal's hard-earned point versus Man City came at quite the cost; David Raya, Calafiori and Jurrien Timber were all suffering from cramp/knocks in the dying embers of the match, while Leandro Trossard followed Declan Rice's bad example by getting himself sent off for kicking the ball away while already on booking.
The Belgian will serve his one-game ban on Wednesday - red card count across all competitions as opposed to accumulated yellows - as he joins Mikel Merino (shoulder), Martin Odegaard (ankle), Takehiro Tomiyasu (knee), Oleksandr Zinchenko (calf) and Kieran Tierney (hamstring) on the Arsenal sidelines. In addition, on-loan Bournemouth goalkeeper Neto is cup-tied, leaving Arteta in a tricky goalkeeping spot if Raya misses out.
Senior options for change in Arsenal's ranks are extremely limited at present, and Arteta could therefore hand starts to Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly, the latter of whom incredibly picked up a yellow card before making his Premier League debut in the Man City thriller.
In contrast, a joyous afternoon for Bolton against Reading saw the Trotters suffer no fresh injury blows, although Osei-Tutu will be denied a reunion with his former employers as he is recovering from a knee injury.
The 25-year-old - who failed to make a single senior appearance for Arsenal - is not alone in the treatment room, though, as Carlos Mendes Gomes (Achilles), Klaidi Lolos (ankle), Gethin Jones (knee) and Will Forrester, who broke one toe and dislocated another while falling down a flight of stairs, are also out.
The visitors remarkably only have one player over the age of 30 in their squad - former Burnley and Rangers midfielder Scott Arfield - who could very well be promoted to the first XI thanks to his invaluable experience.
Arsenal possible starting lineup:
Raya; White, Heaven, Kiwior, Lewis-Skelly; S Oulad M'Hand, Jorginho; Saka, Nwaneri, Sterling; Jesus
Bolton Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Southwood; Toal, Johnston, Santos; Dacres-Cogley, Thomason, Arfield, Dempsey, Schon; Adeboyejo, Charles
We say: Arsenal 2-0 Bolton Wanderers
It remains to be seen how heavily Arteta is willing to rotate for Wednesday's fixture, but even a second-string and youth-heavy Gunners side ought to run into few roadblocks against a wildly inconsistent Bolton.
The Trotters have conceded multiple goals in each of their last four fixtures and should not suddenly find the formula for defensive success in midweek, as Arteta's men stroll into round four.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ben Knapton
