Morning. We’re in EFL Cup action this evening, taking on Fleetwood Town at Highbury Stadium (not that one). Tonight’s opposition sit 18th in League Two, and this will surely influence Mikel Arteta’s team selection. There are players I just do not want to see this evening. Not just from the start, but not in the squad at all. The likes of Declan Rice, Gabriel, Ezri Konsa, Martin Odegaard have all played a lot and could use a night off, and I would also include the two wide players we have fit – Noni Madueke and Eberechi Eze. With injuries to Bukayo Saka and Christos Tzolis, we’re very light in that area of the pitch, and we do not need to risk them in a game like this. There’s still plenty of scope for rotation, and there are some senior players who could use some minutes, as well as an opportunity to fill out the bench with Academy lads. You imagine we’ll see starts for Kepa, Martin Zubimendi (assuming his nose isn’t too sore after the weekend), Cristhian Mosquera, Piero Hincapie, Mikel Merino, maybe Jurrien Timber, Myles Lewis-Skelly, and possibly Bruno Guimaraes, but also it’s an opportunity for Marli Salmon and Max Dowman again, both of whom started in the last round against Ipswich. Dowman played centrally that evening, in the Odegaard role, and got two goals, but I wonder if tonight he might be used out wide as we rest Madueke. After that, young players like Ife Ibrahim and Theo Julienne will be hoping for minutes to add to the ones they picked up in the last round, while forwards like Ceadach O’Neill and Igor Tyjon might fancy their chances of being included. This is a kind draw ahead of a weekend trip to Anfield, and with Liverpool playing Chelsea tomorrow night, it’s an opportunity for the manager to ease the burden on the guys who have played a lot as well as giving the next generation a chance too. I think we’ll also see Viktor Gyokeres up front, and the Swedish international could really do with a goal. He’s on a barren streak (in club terms at least), that stretches back to May 2nd, and it’s now 15 games without a goal. Even though his minutes have been a bit scant this season, that’s a record that’s hanging over him and one he’ll want to put right. A goal, or goals, against a League Two side in this competition will always have that little caveat applied, but it ought to be a real opportunity for him to build a little goalscoring confidence, so fingers crossed he can do exactly that. Speaking about tonight’s game, Arteta said: Every time you play a football match, and especially against a team in a different division, respect the game, respect every opponent because they deserve to do that, and then try to win and try to play better than them. So, let’s see how it plays out later on, kick off is 20.00 in this part of the world. — Elsewhere, while I find the concept of individual awards in football completely counter-intuitive to what makes the game as compelling as it is, I did want to mention Bukayo Saka winning the Socrates Award at the Ballon d’Or ceremony last night. The official website reports that: “Bukayo and his family have worked with multiple charities, including long-term projects with Big Shoe, providing medical care and humanitarian aid for children and families in need in London and around the world.” What’s also counter-intuitive to me is that we live in a society where there’s so much need and inequality, but grotesque, crypto-fascist, sociopathic tech-barons who hoard billions are lauded for their wealth and somehow seen as aspirational figures rather than the blight on society they actually are. Footballers are very, very well paid in comparison to your regular person, but don’t even come close to having the kind of money others flaunt at the expense of our daily lives, privacy, safety, and democracies – all the while protected by the mechanisms of corrupt government. And yet, they are often held up as an example of people who earn too much for doing too little. I remember during Covid, politicians singled out football players as those who should set an example by taking wage cuts or making charity donations or supporting the health services, while ignoring those who – less publicly – earn far, far more. But as we can see here, someone like Bukayo Saka (and he’s far from alone too), uses what his talent has provided to help others, and while I’m sure he doesn’t do it for awards or recognition, this spotlight on what he does can help the causes he supports. This is an individual award worth highlighting, and you can see the ceremony and his speech about it below. — Right, I’m gonna leave it there for now. As ever, we’ll bring you live blog coverage of the game later, as well all the post-game stuff on Arseblog News like the match report, player ratings, manager reaction, quotes round-up and more. Don’t forget the updated Arseblog apps also have a cool new matchday centre, full of stats, alerts, and much more. The Arsecast Extra is below too if you haven’t had a chance to listen yet. Catch you later for the game. Download – iTunes – Spotify – Acast – RSS The post A chance for rotation and rest as we face Fleetwood Town appeared first on Arseblog ... an Arsenal blog.