Arsenal will be hoping to make it three wins from three in the Carabao Cup when they face Crystal Palace in the quarter-finals on Wednesday.
The Gunners have so far beaten Bolton Wanderers and Preston North End in the competition and will go through to the last four if they beat the Eagles at Emirates Stadium. Palace have come into some decent form, however, and go into the fixture on the back of an impressive 3-1 win over Brighton & Hove Albion.
“It’s always really tough,” Mikel Arteta said of the south London side during his pre-match press conference. “When you look at the results they’ve had recently and their approach it’s always really tough.
“It’s another layer of difficulty particularly when you play a team twice in four days. We’ve prepared for that.”
The Gunners go into the clash on the back of a frustrating 0-0 draw with Everton. Declan Rice was forced off injured during the match but he looks to have recovered in time to be named in the matchday squad.
“He’s fine. We will make the decision on whether he’s available or not,” Arteta said on the Englishman on Tuesday. Two players who have been ruled out are Oleksandr Zinchenko and Riccardo Calafiori. The Ukrainian has been nursing a muscle injury while Calafiori has been out with a groin injury.
“Alex and Riccy will still be out of the squad for tomorrow,” Arteta confirmed. Elsewhere, Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu remain out with knee injuries, with the duo not expected to return until 2025.
There will also be no place in the matchday squad for Neto. The goalkeeper signed for the Gunners on a season-long loan from Bournemouth but has already appeared in the Carabao Cup this campaign, which means he is ineligible.
So, looking at the official Arsenal website, the Gunners have 17 fit and eligible senior players available for selection for the game vs Crystal Palace. As per EFP Cup rules, a club is allowed to name a squad of 20 players for a Carabao Cup match.
Tommy Setford is expected to take Neto’s place on the bench as David Raya’s deputy, while Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly are expected to be named in the squad once again. It’s possible both teenagers even start at Emirates Stadium on Wednesday night.
Possible Arsenal squad for Crystal Palace: Raya, Setford; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Kiwior, Tierney, Lewis-Skelly; Rice, Jorginho, Partey, Merino, Nwaneri, Odegaard; Trossard, Sterling, Jesus, Havertz, Martinelli, Saka.
Senior players unavailable for Crystal Palace: White (knee injury), Tomiyasu (knee injury), Calafiori (groin injury), Zinchenko (muscle injury), Neto (ineligible)
