Arsenal vs Bolton Wanderers

Emirates Stadium is the venue as Arsenal and Bolton Wanderers go head-to-head in a ‘David vs Goliath’ League Cup third-round tie.

Arsenal’s pursuit of their first Premier League title since 2003/24 suffered a mental blow at the weekend as Manchester City bagged a 97th-minute equalizer to hold them to a 2-2 draw at the Etihad. It was the Gunners’ third stalemate across their last four outings in all competitions (W1) as they remain unbeaten this season (W3, D3). That fixture deviated from the pattern, though. Five of Arsenal’s six competitive matches this term have featured under 2.5 goals, highlighting the potential for a low-scoring contest. With manager Mikel Arteta likely to hand much-needed rest to numerous first-team stars, this may not be another day in the office for Arsenal despite the odds pointing straight at their dominant win. The London heavyweights are unbeaten in their last three meetings with Bolton (W2, D1), but this is their first encounter since February 2012.

It was Bolton’s last season in the Premier League. The Trotters reached the League One playoffs in 2023/24 but couldn’t earn promotion to the Championship, losing 2-0 to Oxford United in the final. Ian Evatt’s men have experienced a mixed start to the new campaign (W4, D2, L3 – 90 minutes only), casting doubt on their bid to beat Arsenal in London for the first time this century (D4, L9) and snap a seven-game losing H2H away streak. Problems with inconsistent performances have seen Bolton alternate between victories (3) and defeats (3) across their last six competitive outings. However, they head into proceedings in a buoyant mood after a 5-2 rout of Reading at the weekend, looking to build on a 2-0 win against Shrewsbury in the previous League Cup round.