Arsenal take a break from Premier League matters tonight as Brighton land at the Emirates Stadium for an EFL Cup Roud of 16 clash.
Mikel Arteta's team have racked up a four-point lead at the top of the EPL rankings with just one league loss since the start of the campaign.
Arteta will rotate for the visit of Fabian Hurzeler's side with Declan Rice and William Saliba already ruled out through injury and Gabriel Magalhaes expected to be rested ahead of a weekend league trip to Burnley on November 1.
Amongst the changes expected will be a new-look central defensive pairing with summer signings Cristhian Mosquera and Piero Hincapie paired up against the Seagulls.
Mosquera - who joined from Valencia - has started three games across all competitions but injury issues have impacted Hincapie's progress.
The Ecuador international has joined on a season-long loan from Bayer Leverkusen - with Arteta open to activating his purchase option - but he's been restricted to just two substitute appearances at this stage.
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Arteta is ready to throw him in the fray, after receiving a glowing reference from former Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso, and indicating what he will bring to the Arsenal backline.
"He’s a warrior. He's going to bring such intensity, physicality and emotion to the team.
"He's super keen. He can play inside, he can play in wide positions. Now we need to get him up to speed because the moment that physically he's at his best, he’s going to raise the level of the squad."
Hincapie followed Alonso out of Leverkusen this summer, after making 166 club appearances, and won their first-ever Bundesliga crown in 2023/24.
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