by Lee Hurley

Arsenal ladies boss Pedro Losa is set to turn to the youngsters in his squad for the Continental Tyres Cup this season.

Like Arsene Wenger, Losa will use the cup games as a chance to give youngsters some much needed and valuable senior minutes.

Speaking to BBC Sport, Losa said “We want to be in the final. We want to win.

“But our philosophy is to go game by game. We have a game against Watford on Thursday, then we have a game against Notts County.

“We want to beat Watford and we will give opportunities to young players. We are very proud of them and they are at the level to play.”

To date, there have been four Continental Cup finals, all of which Arsenal have reached. Having won it for the first three years, they lost in the final last season to Manchester City.

They begin this year’s campaign on Thursday against Watford who play in the second division of women’s football, WSL 2.

The competition has undergone something of a reorganisation this season, with FA director Kelly Simmons saying “We’ve looked to freshen up the competition this year and by introducing the extra knock-out stage, we think it will make the cup even more exciting for both supporters and clubs.

“Continental Tyres have been a big supporter of the women’s game since the start of the FA WSL in 2011 and we look forward to working with them this season to make this season’s competition the best yet.”

Marketing communications manager for Continental, Peter Robb, added “Continental Tyres are delighted to be part of this exciting competition for the fifth year running, and we are looking forward to what promises to be the most successful tournament to date.

“The continual rise in attendance figures over recent tournaments clearly demonstrates the growing appetite for the Women’s game in this country.

“Our fifth season brings an even bigger tournament with the addition of an extra knock out round, putting even more focus on the teams’ performance, as they compete to be in the season’s concluding cup final.”