Arsenal will play Brentford in the third round of the Carabao Cup next month following last night’s draws.
The Gunners were dumped out of the third round of the competition last season at the hands of Brighton and Hove Albion at Emirates Stadium, and manager Mikel Arteta will hope his side avoids a similar heartbreak this term.
As was the case last term, Arsenal are entering the competition in the third round having finished in the top seven and secured European football in the Premier League last term, and they will hope to progress to the fourth round and also advance to the quarter-finals afterwards.
They will travel to the Gtech Community Stadium to face the Bees, with a date and kick-off time to be announced in due course.
The third-round fixtures will be played in the week commencing September 25, and Arsenal will be facing Brentford for the first time in the Carabao Cup since 2018 when they ran out 3-1 winners at Emirates Stadium.
They last won the competition in 1992-93, with their other triumph coming in 1986-87, and fans will expect them to go all the way this term given their squad depth.
While under-21 goalkeeper Karl Hein was in goal in the 3-1 loss against Brighton last term, David Raya is expected to play when the Gunners begin their Carabao Cup campaign, and the Spaniard could be making his competitive debut for Arsenal against his old side.
Arteta could also hand some of the youth players a chance, but he will be wary not to gamble with his selection as there are plenty of first-team players who could do with game time right now.
The likes of Reiss Nelson and Emile Smith Rowe (if he remains at the club beyond this summer) will be expected to start against Brentford and use the game to prove their worth.
