WEST BROMWICH ALBION v ARSENAL
Capital One Cup 3rd Round
Wednesday 25th September 2013, 8:00pm
The Hawthorns

MATCH NOTES

The Baggies have lost all three previous League Cup meetings with Arsenal by a 2-0 scoreline.

Albion have progressed past the third round stage just once in the last eight seasons.

Arsenal have won their last seven games in all competitions.

Albion's last six games: Sunderland (H) 3-0; Fulham (A) 1-1; Swansea City (H) 0-2; Newport County (H, LC) 3-0; Everton (A) 0-0; Southampton (H) 0-1.

Arsenal's last six games: Stoke City (H) 3-1; Marseille (A, CL) 2-1; Sunderland (A) 3-1; Tottenham Hotspur (H) 1-0; Fenerbahce (H, CL) 2-0; Fulham (A) 3-1.

TEAM NEWS

Albion

Baggies' boss Steve Clarke looks set to make a number of changes for the Capital One clash with the Gunners.

Steven Reid and Shane Long have both recovered from their recent injuries and Chris Brunt could also return after missing Saturday's win over Sunderland.

Ben Foster (foot), Zoltan Gera and George Thorne (both knee), and Matej Vydra (hamstring), all miss out.

Squad from: Myhill, Daniels, Camp, Olsson, Popov, Ridgewell, Lugano, McAuley, Dawson, Jones, Yacob, Morrison, Brunt, Dorrans, Sinclair, Amalfitano, Mulumbu, Long, Anichebe, Sessegnon, Rosenberg, Berahino, Anelka.

Arsenal

Like his opposite number Clarke, Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger looks set to put out a vastly changed team from last weekend.

Santi Cazorla (ankle), Theo Walcott (stomach), Tomas Rosicky (thigh), Yaya Sanogo (back), Lukas Podolski (hamstring), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Abou Diaby (both knee) will all be missing.

Striker Nicklas Bendtner could make his first appearance for the club since August 2011 while Serge Gnabry and Hector Bellerin could also figure.

Squad from: Szczesny, Sagna, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Gibbs, Flamini, Wilshere, Ozil, Ramsey, Giroud, Fabianski, Akpom, Vermaelen, Jenkinson, Monreal, Frimpong, Gnabry, Arteta, Olsson, Bellerin, Bendtner.

QUOTES

Baggies' assistant head coach Kevin Keen:

“For West Brom a cup run would be fantastic - for the supporters more than anything, I think if you ask the Swansea supporters or the Wigan supporters; to appear in Wembley cup finals is a dream come true. So, I think for the supporters of West Brom any sort of cup run would be great and certainly getting anywhere near the final rounds can make a season really exciting.

"Losing to QPR last season in the FA Cup and to Liverpool in the Capital One Cup was really disappointing and we want to have a real crack at it. We will have a real go and we want to win things for the supporters. They want us to play in semi-finals and go to Wembley and the players want to be remembered for winning things.

“I think it’s a fantastic game. Arsenal are perhaps under a bit of pressure because they've not won a major trophy for a while. I think it's a good draw for us because the crowd will get behind us, Arsenal will bring a few supporters - and it will be a good atmosphere and good game.

“The atmosphere in the camp has been a little bit better since the weekend win than in previous weeks. We hadn't played that well at home against Southampton and Swansea, we didn't do ourselves justice. So, to go out on Saturday and not just win but play well and get supporters on the edge of their seats a few times with some of our football, wasn't just a relief but, going forward, I think will have the supporters saying ‘yeah, I think we can do well this season’.

“Arsenal have always had really talented young players coming through and it doesn't weaken them that much if they play some of them against us. They may do that.  We have a really strong squad at the moment, with only two or three injuries. We have international players who have been on our bench who need games so I think Steve will be looking to change a few of those. Does it weaken our team? I’m not sure it does, because we have some really talented players ready to come in if Steve decides to do that.”

www.wba.co.uk

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger:

"I will try to find a good balance between experience and youth. At the back you will have players you know well. Up front, you have a bit more improvisation and young players.

"You will see Gnabry again - everybody knows him already. Maybe the return of Bendtner as well, who will get a chance. That's the kind of team we will have.

"We want to win this competition as well. I try to find the right balance between giving a needed breather to some players like Wilshere and Ramsey, who have given a lot.

"[I] take the competition very seriously as well because it's an opportunity to win a trophy. We don't want to neglect that. Having said that, we play again on Saturday and we play again on Tuesday. We had to play the qualifier of the Champions League which were two tough games."

www.arsenal.com

MATCH ODDS

Result

Albion Win: 9/4, Arsenal Win: 11/10, Draw: 13/5.

First Goalscorer

Albion: Anelka 7/1, Berahino 8/1, Anichebe 8/1, Long 9/1, Sessegnon 9/1, Rosenberg 10/1, Sinclair 14/1, Morrison 16/1, Brunt 16/1, Dorrans 16/1, McAuley 20/1, Mulumbu 20/1, Dawson 25/1, Amalfitano 25/1.

Arsenal: Giroud 9/2, Akpom 6/1, Sanogo 6/1, Bendtner 13/1, Ozil 7/1, Ramsey 8/1, Miyaichi 9/1, Gnabry 9/1, Wilshere 12/1, Rosicky 12/1, Arteta 14/1, Flamini 20/1, Vermaelen 20/1, Gibbs 25/1, Frimpong 25/1.

REFEREE

Bobby Madley (West Yorkshire)

The only Albion game Madley has so far taken charge of is last season's 3-0 win away at Southampton. The game saw Madley issue three red cards - Marc-Antoine Fortune for Albion and Gaston Ramirez and Danny Fox for the Saints.

TICKET INFORMATION

Tickets will remain on general sale to home supporters only until kick-off.

WEATHER FORECAST

Partly cloudy, 16°C.

FIXTURE HISTORY

LAST LEAGUE CUP MEETING

Arsenal 2-0 Albion
Carling Cup 3rd Round
Tuesday 22nd September 2009, 7:45pm

Arsenal: Szczesny; Gilbert, Senderos, Silvestre, Gibbs; Wilshere, Coquelin (Randall 58), Ramsey, Traore (Barazite 78); Watt, Sanu (Vela 58). Subs not used: Shea (gk), Bartley, Eastmond, Frimpong

Goalscorers: Watt 68, Vela 76

Booked: Senderos 32 (foul), Ramsey 57 (foul)

Albion: Kiely; Zuiverloon, Barnett, Olsson (Meite 80), Jara; Thomas, Dorrans, Koren, Teixeira; Cox (Mulumbu 61), Moore (Wood 74). Subs not used: Carson (gk), Martis, Bednar, Reid

Booked: Cox 38 (dissent)

Sent-off: Thomas 38 (violent conduct)

Attendance: 56,592

Referee: Lee Mason (Lancashire)

Controversy pursues even Arsenal’s bright young things these days. Victory for the youth team in the first of this season's Carling Cup outings was sparked by the dismissal of one of the club's graduates, Jerome Thomas, amid accusations from the visiting management that Jack Wilshere's verbal provocation had induced the sending-off. There is clearly little wide-eyed innocence to be had among the latest generation trundling off this club's conveyor belt of talent.

The locals were warmed by a debut goal from the 18-year-old Sanchez Watt and a wonderful piece of skill from Mark Randall that eventually yielded a second, West Bromwich Albion, humbled but never humiliated, departed the competition still simmering about the contest's only flashpoint.

The visitors had been imposing themselves on youthful hosts – there were three debutants and eight teenagers in the home side's starting line-up – when Thomas, who had won two FA Youth Cups with Arsenal at the turn of the decade and made his only first-team appearances for the club in this competition, tangled with Wilshere eight minutes before the interval. The Arsenal player crumpled in the mess of arms and legs, claiming he had been elbowed, while Thomas tumbled with him. The winger may have left his foot in but, when he offered his hand to the 17-year-old, Wilshere responded furiously.

Thomas, now a seasoned professional at 26, lost his composure and shoved his opponent back to the turf and, while the Arsenal player's reaction may have been overly dramatic, clutching his forehead in apparent agony when contact appeared to be inflicted nearer his chin, the red card was inevitable. Roberto di Matteo conceded as much, though he was less forgiving of the perceived provocation.

"There was an exchange of words, and then there was a reaction," said the Italian. "I know what was said but I'm not telling you. I'm disappointed that Wilshere didn't accept my player's hand. He wanted to help him get up, actually. He's a fellow colleague. But [Thomas] reacted to what was said. I suppose that was the turning point in the game."

Neither club was able to shed any light on what had been said to prompt the red mist to descend. "My eyes are not great and my ears are even worse," said Arsène Wenger with a smile. "I couldn't hear anything from the touchline. But I don't know. It looked like [Thomas] responded, reacted, and in these cases you always need to control your nerves. Has he any excuses or not? I don't know. But Jack was upset as well. He said he was kicked.

"Jerome was a bit impulsive when he played with us [before leaving five years ago], very talented, sometimes nervy and impatient as well. He had a lot of talent. I'm happy that he's now coming to the top level. He always had something special, in his running with the ball and his dribbling, and he was always an exceptional player on his day. He lacked confidence when he was younger but he seems to have found that now."

Self-control clearly still eludes him at times. Thomas's decision to raise his hand had sealed his fate and the visitors were never likely to pose the same threat with 10 men as they had with a full complement. Watt may have dribbled a shot against the post, the loose ball gratefully claimed by a sprawling Dean Kiely, but the better opportunities had been the Baggies' up to the break. Simon Cox and Robert Koren had drawn fine saves from Wojciech Szczesny. When the Pole was bypassed, Kerrea Gilbert scrambled Cox's attempt from the goal-line.

Instead youthful exuberance and no little quality ensured the tie was spared extra-time. Carlos Vela, at 20 a relative veteran summoned from the bench just before the hour, provided the bite that had previously been missing for all of Francis Coquelin's neat passing and Gilles Sumu's boundless energy. The substitute latched on to Aaron Ramsey's cleverly lobbed pass to cut inside Jonas Olsson and spit a shot at goal which Kiely could only palm into Watt's path. The forward, a key member of last season's FA Youth Cup winning set-up, finished with glee.

Albion held firm for a while thereafter only for Randall's deft lob over Kiely to cannon down from the crossbar 14 minutes from time. A panicked Leon Barnett attempted to chest the rebound back to his goalkeeper but Vela nipped in, poked the ball clear of Kiely's body and tapped into the unguarded net.

The Mexican is still short of full match fitness but may be considered for the bench at Fulham on Saturday. The vast majority of this side will have to wait until the fourth round before they next pull on a first-team shirt. This may not have been as scintillating a win as the 6-0 dismissal of Sheffield United at the same stage last season but the youngsters have set about dazzling this competition yet again.

www.theguardian.com

CURRENT CONNECTIONS

Albion striker Nicolas Anelka joined Arsenal from Paris Saint-Germain in February 1997 at the age of 17. He spent two and a half years with the Gunners before leaving for Real Madrid in August 1999 in a £22 million deal.

PAST CONNECTIONS

Amongst the players to have turned out at various levels for both clubs are: Kwame Ampadu, Paul Barron, Vince Bartram, Brendon Batson, Kevin Campbell, David Cork, Bobby Gould, Don Howe, Junichi Inamoto, Nwankwo Kanu, Alan Miller, Jay Simpson, Brian Talbot, Jerome Thomas, Carlos Vela, Steve Walford and Chris Whyte.

ALL-TIME LEAGUE & CUP RECORD VS ARSENAL