The Premier League leaders host the EFL Cup history-makers in Wednesday's fourth-round showdown, which pits Arsenal against Brighton & Hove Albion at the Emirates.
The Gunners avoided a giant killing at the hands of Port Vale first up, while Fabian Hurzeler's men marched to an astonishingsecond straight 6-0 win over Barnsley in the third round.
Match preview
Fast-forward to May, and EFL Cup glory but nothing else may go down as a blot on Mikel Arteta's Arsenal notebook, but the North London giants currently have the look of a team who could very well compete on all fronts in the coming months.
Not since 1993 have the Gunners hoisted the League Cup aloft - falling short in a few finals and semi-finals since then - but the extraordinary squad depth at Arteta's disposal puts the hosts in an extremely strong position to challenge for mid-season silverware.
Arsenal did not have it all their own way against Port Vale in the third round of the 2025-26 tournament, but goals from Eberechi Eze and Leandro Trossard sufficed for a 2-0 win, before the former's solitary strike took down former club Crystal Palace in Sunday's Premier League London derby.
Spooky season has been anything but for Gooners, who also rejoiced in defeats for Liverpool and Manchester City in Premier League gameweek nine as Arteta's men opened up a four-point lead in the top-flight standings, where Bournemouth are now their closest challengers.
Last dropping points against Manchester City over a month ago, Arsenal are unbeaten in 10, have won seven on the spin and have kept five clean sheets in their last five games in all tournaments, although that defensive mettle will be put to the test if Brighton's early EFL Cup performances are anything to go by.
Brighton & Hove Albion's Diego Gomez celebrates on September 23, 2025
Whatever transpires on Wednesday evening, Brighton have already etched their name into the EFL Cup annals, having become the first side in the history of the competition to win back-to-back games by six goals or more.
The soaring Seagulls firstly obliterated Oxford United 6-0 before remarkably putting another sextet of goals past Barnsley without reply - four of their strikes on the evening came via Diego Gomez, the first player to score that many in an EFL Cup away game since Julio Baptista for Arsenal against Liverpool in 2007.
However, the fourth round has been Brighton's kryptonite for the best part of five decades; the visitors have failed to make the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup since the 1978-79 edition and have been eliminated at the last-16 stage four times in the last five seasons.
Sticking with the theme of un-fab fours for Brighton, Hurzeler's men became the latest victims of Ruben Amorim's resurgent Manchester United in Saturday's 4-2 Premier League defeat, one that ended their five-match unbeaten sequence across all competitions.
EFL Cup trips to the Emirates should evoke fond memories for the Brighton faithful, though, as the Seagulls memorably bested Arsenal in the third round of the 2022-23 edition, while both Premier League battles between the two clubs last season ended honours even.
Arsenal EFL Cup form:
Arsenal form (all competitions):
W
W
W
W
W
W
Brighton & Hove Albion EFL Cup form:
Brighton & Hove Albion form (all competitions):
D
W
W
D
W
L
Team News
Arsenal's William Saliba pictured on August 23, 2025
Arsenal's hard-fought beating of Palace came at a significant cost on the fitness front, as William Saliba, Declan Rice, Riccardo Calafiori and Gabriel Martinelli all suffered knocks during the game, but the former three would have almost certainly been rested for this one anyway.
The severity of the quartet's issues remain unclear, but for the time being, they join long-term knee victims Kai Havertz, Martin Odegaard, Noni Madueke and Gabriel Jesus on an eight-strong injury list for the hosts.
Saliba partnered Cristhian Mosquera in the third-round win over Port Vale, but a full debut for Piero Hincapie surely now awaits, although 15-year-old wonderkid Max Dowman may lose out to Ethan Nwaneri for the right-wing spot.
On Brighton's end, none of Kaoru Mitoma (ankle), Joel Veltman (calf) or Brajan Gruda (knee) was passed fit for the trip to Old Trafford, but the trio are closing in on comebacks and might be given the green light to make the squad in midweek.
That is more than can be said for Jack Hinshelwood (foot), Solly March (knee) and Adam Webster (knee), all of whom are sidelined for the long-term - only the former might return before the end of 2025.
The calibre of opposition means that Hurzeler should not make an abundance of changes, but Barnsley hero Gomez and the evergreen James Milner - provider of his 90th Premier League assist on Saturday - are candidates to return to the XI.
Arsenal possible starting lineup:
Kepa; White, Mosquera, Hincapie, Lewis-Skelly; Eze, Norgaard, Merino; Nwaneri, Gyokeres, Trossard
Brighton & Hove Albion possible starting lineup:
Steele; Wieffer, Dunk, Boscagli, De Cuyper; Milner, Ayari; Gomez, Rutter, Minteh; Welbeck
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We say: Arsenal 2-1 Brighton & Hove Albion
With no European football to factor in this season. Brighton can afford to go strong in North London, where a rotated Arsenal side could finally concede their fourth goal of the season.
However, even a second-string and injury-hit Arsenal team should be able to capitalise on the visitors' defensive deficiencies - especially with a few players bidding to prove a point - and Arteta's men ought to just about do enough for a quarter-final spot.
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