Arsenal draw Brentford in Carabao Cup 3rd round

Arsenal have drawn away to Brentford in the Carabao Cup 3rd round. It’s a difficult draw for both sides, adding a tough match in the midst of the Champions League schedule for Mikel Arteta’s club. It wouldn’t surprise me if the Arsenal manager picked a heavily rotated, young lineup, as he did last season when the Gunners went out of the Carabao Cup in the 3rd round to a mostly Premier League first XI Brighton lineup. Like Brighton last season, Brentford are not in European competition and will likely deploy a full strength lineup with an eye to making a deep cup run.

The Gunners have played the Bees five times in the modern era, amassing a 3-1-1 record against their cross-London rivals. Arsenal downed Brentford 3-1 in the League Cup in 2018. Thomas Frank’s side’s only win came in the Premier League season opener two years ago over an injury and COVID depleted Arsenal team.

It’s a disappointing draw for the Gunners. The Carabao Cup often presents an opportunity for younger players to get some important experience playing competitive minutes alongside first team players against a lower division club. Arsenal have now been denied that chance two years running.

The draw was not kind to Premier League sides, generally. Of the 16 fixtures, 5 are head-to-head matchups of top flight clubs.

Brentford vs Arsenal
Aston Villa vs Everton
Manchester United vs Crystal Palace
Chelsea vs Brighton
Newcastle United vs Manchester City

And the other fixtures:

Salford City vs Burnley
Fulham vs Norwich City
Blackburn Rovers vs Cardiff City
Liverpool vs Leicester City
Mansfield Town vs Peterborough United
Ipswich Town vs Wolverhampton Wanderers
Exeter City vs Luton Town
Port Vale vs Sutton United
Bradford City vs Middlesbrough
Bournemouth vs Stoke City
Lincoln City vs West Ham

The ties will be played the week of September 25th. Specific dates are not yet set.