As part of English Football League Cup, the Carabao Cup or simply the League Cup – Arsenal welcome lower tier dwellers Sunderland at the Emirates Stadium.Both teams boast great form lately but given the quality of the competitions, It shouldn’t be much of a task for the Gunners. Objectively, three successive Premier League wins for Mikel Arteta’s men carry more weight than Sunderland’s seven games in a row unbeaten in League One.Rejuvenated Arsenal have gone into overdrive after successive defeats to open December. Last Wednesday’s London derby win over West Ham United lifted the Gunners into the Premier League top four for the first time since October 2020 which was followed up with a convincing victory over Leeds United at the weekend.Sign a mega-money deal, then perform below par: first Ozil, now Aubameyang – a contract curse at the EmiratesWith comfortably beating both West Brom and Wimbledon without conceding a goal, the North London side cruised through their opening two ties of arguably the least important competition nation wide.Having lifted the trophy just twice in their long and glorious history – compared to a record 14 FA Cup triumphs – the Gunners will certainly want to capitalise on being drawn against the only lower league opposition remaining in this year’s edition. Arsenal hope that surpassing the Black Cats will help them reach League Cup glory for the first time since 1993.Sunderland avoided facing top-flight opponents until this stage – they had to defeat QPR, Port Vale, Blackpool and Wigan to reach a stand-off against Arsenal in the quarterfinals.The Black Cats sit third in League One and their quest for a return to the second tier this season under Lee Johnson has progressed relatively well.##EDITORS_CHOICE##Mikel Arteta rarely uses the same starting eleven but he surprisingly did so in four consecutive Premier League matches (it did not happen in Arsenal since 2015). However, for the Sunderland clash he will surely try something different.Former captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is still absent due to disciplinary reasons so the armband and the position of the starting striker probably stays with Alexandre Lacazette. Supporting the Frenchman from the sides – Ivorian Nicolas Pepe and youngster Eddie Nketiah.Pablo Mari and Albert Sambi Lokonga (both COVID-19) and Sead Kolasinac (ankle) remain sidelined while Rob Holding, Nuno Tavares and Ainsley Maitland-Niles can be expected on the pitch from the get-go.Arsenal’s young squad seem to have no problems so far in the EFL Cup and while Sunderland are expected to put up strong resistance, the quality and momentum of Arteta’s squad should ensure that the Gunners qualify to the next round.EFL CUP – QUARTERFINALSTuesday22:45: (1.25) Arsenal (6.50) Sunderland (10.0)Wednesday22:45: (1.70) Liverpool (3.90) Leicester (4.80)22:45: (2.40) Tottenham (3.30) West Ham (3.00)22:45: (4.70) Brentford (3.50) Chelsea (1.80)
