Arsenal have had limited success in the EFL Cup, or League Cup in recent years, but it has been a very useful competition for other reasons.
Arsenal have not won the the EFL Cup since 1993, and last reached the final in 2018, as they lost 3-0 to Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City in a dismal Carabao Cup outing at Wembley.
Arsene Wenger was not fond of the competition, but it still proved useful to him as it allowed young players to gain opportunities at first-team level, with a lot of academy talent given minutes as their development was prioritised over results in the League Cup.
Mikel Arteta may follow suit and hand full debuts to some of Hale End’s best prospects, which will allow his first-team stars to rest, and some of them will be aiming to use it as a means of impressing to gain further opportunities.
Some iconic Arsenal players made either their club debuts or their first starts in this competition, and we’ve highlighted some of the best.
Cesc Fabregas
Cesc Fabregas joined Arsenal from the Barcelona academy as a teenager, and became the youngest player to ever represent the club at the time, at just 16 years and 177 days old, in September 2003.
Arsenal drew 0-0 with Rotherham in the third round of the competition, with Fabregas thrown in from the start, and the home side went on to win 9-8 on penalties at Highbury.
Fabregas would later win the World Cup and become Arsenal club captain, and his debut in the League Cup became an iconic moment in his career.
Jack Wilshere
Jack Wilshere was one of the biggest prospects to ever come through the Hale End Academy, and he made his highly anticipated full debut for the club in September 2008.
Wilshere was one of 13 teenagers named in the matchday squad in the third round against Sheffield United at the Emirates Stadium, and the midfielder got on the scoresheet in an outstanding 6-0 victory, which also saw another teenager shine…
Carlos Vela
Mexican striker Carlos Vela was 19 when he made his first Arsenal start alongside Wilshere against Sheffield United in the then-named Carling Cup.
Vela was rampant upfront, and scored an astonishing hattrick, including an iconic chip for his second goal.
The attacker would go on to play for Real Sociedad before moving to the USA, where he became one of the best scorers in the history of MLS.
Serge Gnabry
German winger Serge Gnabry proved to be one of Arsenal’s biggest-ever transfer regrets, as he is now thriving at Bayern Munich, and he even scored at the Emirates in the Champions League last season.
When Gnabry first came through, he was an exciting young winger who was tipped as a huge star for the future, and he made his debut in the Capital One Cup as Arsenal beat Coventry City 6-1.
Gnabry repaced Alex Oxlade Chamberlain in the 72nd minute, and would go on to appear in Arsenal’s 7-5 victory at Reading in the following round in 2012.
Hector Bellerin
Spanish defender Hector Bellerin followed the same path as Fabregas as he moved to Arsenal from the Barcelona academy, and the League Cup is where he made his breakthrough.
Bellerin came on for Arteta as a substitute in the 95th minute of the third round in September 2013, as Arsenal won at West Brom on penalties after a 1-1 draw.
The right-back then made his full debut a year later in the Champions League, but this was a disaster as Arsenal lost 2-0 to Borussia Dortmund, but he would go on to make 239 appearances for the club.
David Ospina
Arsenal needed a new goalkeeper in the summer of 2014 after the departure of FA Cup hero Lukasz Fabianski, and Wenger signed Colombia International David Ospina from Nice.
After arriving with an injury, Ospina made his debut for the club in the third round of the EFL Cup, but it was not a happy one, as Arsenal were beaten 2-1 at home by Southampton.
Alex Iwobi
Former Hale End graduate Alex Iwobi is now thriving at Fulham after leaving Arsenal in 2019, but he did enjoy some success at the Emirates.
Arsenal endured a contrasting week of emotions in November 2015, as they secured victories over Bayern Munich and Everton at the Emirates, before losing 3-0 to Sheffield Wednesday in the League Cup.
One positive of the night was that the highly-rated Iwobi, who had impressed in the Emirates Cup a few months before, made his first-team debut, before eventually starting in the Premier League later on in the campaign.
Eddie Nketiah
Eddie Nketiah produced some iconic moments for Arsenal before joining Crystal Palace, and the first of these came in the EFL Cup.
Arsenal were trailing 1-0 to Norwich City in 2017 when Nketiah came off the bench for his debut, and the rest is history.
Nketiah scored just seconds after coming on, pouncing on a loose ball from a corner to tap in, before remarkably doubling the lead in extra time through a superb header.
The striker proved to be the match winner, in one of the most incredible academy debuts in recent years.
Gabriel Martinelli
Gabriel Martinelli is now a winger, but when he made his first Arsenal start in the League Cup, he thrived as a centre-forward.
After joining Arsenal as a teenager from Brazilian side Ituano, Martinelli started upfront in September 2019 as his side thrashed Nottingham Forest 5-0.
Martinelli was sensational as he scored a brace, which included an incredible header from a volleyed cross by Calum Chambers, and this was the sign of things to come from him.
Kieran Tierney
Scottish left-back Kieran Tierney was injured when he first arrived from Celtic, and this meant that his competitive debut came in September alongside Martinelli in the League Cup.
Tierney impressed against Forest, with his speed and crossing ability on full display. However, injuries blighted him since, and stopped him becoming a true fan favourite.
Aaron Ramsdale
August 2021 was a difficult time for Arsenal, as Arteta was under serious pressure amid a dismal start to the season.
Arteta was criticised for signing goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale, but he impressed on his debut in the EFL Cup as Arsenal ran out 6-0 winners away at West Brom.
This was the platform Ramsdale needed to then take Bernd Leno’s number one spot just weeks later, before eventually departing after three years at the club.
Charlie Patino
Arsenal enjoyed an incredible 5-1 victory over Sunderland in the League Cup quarter-final in 2021, and the highlight was a debut goal from Charlie Patino.
Patino was one of the highest-rated prospects in the academy, and his substitution was a brilliant one as he scored on his first appearance, sending the Emirates wild.
It never quite worked out for Patino, who recently joined Deportivo La Coruna in the Spanish Second Division.
Charles Sagoe Jr
Arteta sprung a surprise in 2023 as young winger Charles Sagoe Jr was selected to start in the third round away at Brentford.
Sagoe Jr had a tidy game as Arsenal won 1-0, and he is now out on loan at Swansea City, with the winger hoping to make a good impression before potentially returning next summer.
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