Bolton to Face Arsenal in Carabao Cup Showdown

The highly anticipated Carabao Cup tie between Arsenal and Bolton Wanderers is set to take place at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday, marking the beginning of Arsenal’s 2024/25 campaign in the competition. Scheduled to kick off at 7:45 p.m. (UK time), this third-round encounter presents both teams with an opportunity to progress further in the domestic tournament.

Last season, Arsenal’s journey in the Carabao Cup saw them overcoming Brentford in the third round but eventually falling to West Ham United in the subsequent stage. For this encounter, Arsenal will face League One side Bolton Wanderers, who currently sit 18th in their league, having accrued seven points from their initial six games of the season. Bolton’s recent form includes a 5-2 victory over Reading.

The Trotters, under the stewardship of manager Ian Evatt, started their League One journey with a win against Leyton Orient and subsequently eliminated Mansfield Town from the Carabao Cup via penalties. In the second round, they triumphed over Shrewsbury Town with a 2-0 victory. However, league matches against Wrexham, Charlton Athletic, Exeter City, and Huddersfield Town did not yield favorable results for Bolton.

Arsenal’s manager, Mikel Arteta, emphasized the importance of the competition, stating: “We are here to win the big competitions and also those people consider not that big. That’s our duty.” Arteta will be unable to call upon Neto, who is cup-tied, or Leandro Trossard, who is suspended following a red card against Manchester City. Injuries also rule out Martin Odegaard, Mikel Merino, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Takehiro Tomiyasu, and Kieran Tierney.

Bolton’s manager, Ian Evatt, conveyed his excitement ahead of the match: “We can go there with the pressure off… It’s a chance to go and learn what it takes to be at that level. We will go there and give it our best shot and see where that takes us.” Evatt is expected to introduce some rotation to his squad, considering their upcoming league fixture against Crawley Town.

Historically, Arsenal have prevailed in most of their encounters with lower league opposition in the League Cup, having advanced past each of their last ten such ties. Bolton’s last victory against Arsenal at the Emirates was in a 3-1 win during an FA Cup match in 1994.

The match will be officiated by Josh Smith, who has issued 27 yellow cards and one red card in his seven matches this season. Notably, VAR will not be in use for this fixture.

Fans can tune in to Arsenal’s new matchday show an hour before kickoff. Hosted by Nicole Holliday and Theo Walcott, the show will feature insights from Per Mertesacker and an appearance by musical duo Rizzle Kicks. Additionally, live commentary during the match will be provided by Dan Roebuck and Adrian Clarke.