The fact that Arsenal are struggling to sell tickets for this game at just £10 should tell you everything you need to know of its importance over the years.
We’ve often seen Arsene Wenger use the League Cup as a springboard for some of the latest and greatest talent within the club and we can expect much of the same on Wednesday night.
With it being the only domestic trophy missing from Wenger’s checklist, he’ll welcome League One’s Doncaster Rovers with open arms in the hopes of booking a spot in the fourth round.
Plenty of the media outlets have picked out their ‘likely line-ups’ over the last few days but I think Wenger needs to throw plenty of the youngsters out for this one.
With it being a home tie, not only will they have a chance to pick up some valuable confidence from the supporters, they can also take comfort in a surrounding they’re familiar with.
Here’s the XI I’d like to see Wenger put out:
Goalkeeper: Matt Macey
It’s games like these that can mean so much to a player like Macey, who will be keen to kick on and pick up as much first-team experience as he can this season.
With Emiliano Martinez on loan this season, it’s a chance for the 23-year-old to show us all that he has what it takes to one day become a threat to the number one spot.
As a young, English academy graduate you’d have to say that Macey stands a very low chance of making it as a regular in Wenger’s plans but at least it provides a platform.
David Ospina will be saved for the upcoming Europa League games, whilst Petr Cech has pulled off a number of decent performances to reaffirm his role between the sticks.
Macey ticks all of the boxes for a game like this and I think we would all like a little glimpse of whether or not he’s ready for the next step, because so far we haven’t seen much of him!