Guessing the Carling Cup team is always good fun. In previous seasons it was obvious what the team would be in the early rounds of the cup

Well that was a bit better. It felt good to be excited about an Arsenal performance for the first time in a while. It was exactly what we needed after a very bad week and hopefully the players can take that result and turn it into some form of consistency during a difficult period of games. But for now the first team have a break as we have the pleasant distraction of the Carling Cup, against a side that cruelly knocked us out when we were about a minute away from the final in the 2005/2006 season.

Wigan have lost four of their last six games but this game won’t be like the Sheffield United game. Well, I expect it won’t, it would be good if it was. Despite their poor league form, Bruce has done a decent job at Wigan and they have a strong side that will cause our kids problems. Heskey will certainly keep the centre backs occupied, and in Zaki they have the Premier League’s top scorer that we’ll have to deal with. Valencia, Palacios and Koumas are players that can cause problems from midfield, and Cattermole will be going strongly into tackles to make sure our kids know what they’re up against. Their defence, however, is a little bit suspect and can be got at, and Vela could have some joy against it if he plays well. Our Carling Cup team is younger than it has ever been before under Wenger, and the crowds they are playing in front of are bigger than they’ve been before in the Carling Cup too. As ridiculous as it seems with them playing against a full strength Premier League side, we’ve gotten so used to the kids getting to the latter stages that we’re almost expectant of a result. This will be a massive test for the kids and I really hope they relish it.

Team News

Guessing the Carling Cup team is always good fun. In previous seasons it was obvious what the team would be in the early rounds of the cup, as we had a second choice player in every position. We don’t really have that these days. I expect it will be a very similar side to the one that lined up against Sheffield United in the third round.

Bendtner isn’t included in the squad, which means Jay Simpson could partner him up front or we could go with a 4-5-1 formation. Havard Nordveit has returned from loan but hasn’t played for the reserves or anything yet and won’t be involved here. Amaury Bischoff could possibly make his debut, we don’t really know. Arsene said that the team will be “90%” the same as the one that beat Sheffield United. The missing 10% might just be Bendtner. He’s a bid lad.

Subs: Mannone, Agogo, Frimpong, Coquelin, Bischoff, Fonte, Lansbury.

Wigan Athletic

Wigan have no injury issues to speak of, so they’ll probably play the same full strength team that they’ve used in the last few league games.