Arsenal travel to Sheffield Wednesday on Tuesday evening with a place in the Capital One Cup quarter-finals up for grabs.
Gunners manager Arsene Wenger has historically used this competition to blood youngsters. And it looks as though he is set to continue that tradition. According to the Metro, the Frenchman promoted 13 players from the youth team to senior training on Monday.
The Metro claim that Alex Iwobi, Ben Sheaf, Marcus Agyei-Tabi, Donyell Malen, Joshua Dasilva, Reiss Nelson, Ismael Bennacer, Savvas Mourgos, Glen Kamara, Matt Macey, Marc Bola, Krystian Bielike and Julio Pleguezuelo all featured in Monday’s session at London Colney.
So, how many of those kids are likely to start at Hillsborough? This is how we reckon Wenger’s men will lineup…
GK: Petr Cech
David Ospina is Arsenal’s cup keeper, but the Colombian is injured, so Cech will start. Wenger’s quotes on Arsenal’s official website confirm this: “Ospina is still out too, so Cech will certainly play.”
Under-21 stopper Macey could be on the bench.
RB: Mathieu Debuchy
The former Newcastle United right-back has been kept out of Arsenal’s starting XI by the in-form Hector Bellerin for the majority of the season, but a League Cup tie against a team from a lower division presents a perfect opportunity for him to play, with the young Spaniard taking a rest.
LB: Kieran Gibbs
Nacho Monreal has started every Premier League game so far this season, but Gibbs, who has made five appearances in other competitions, is a more-than-capable understudy.