Cedric Soares is set to make his first start of the season on Wednesday, amid Takehiro Tomiyasu’s fitness uncertainty.

Arsenal take on Brighton in the League Cup on Wednesday, their first appearance in the competition this season after 19 games of Premier League and Europa League action.

The Gunners sit top of the Premier League, they topped their Europa League group, but it remains to be seen how Mikel Arteta will approach the cup competitions in the current campaign.

The Evening Standard report that the cup might provide Cedric Soares with his first start of the season, writing that he’s in line to make the lineup against Brighton.

Cedric has struggled for minutes this season. The Portuguese international was already behind Takehiro Tomiyasu in the pecking order, but Ben White’s shift out to right-back has only made the situation more difficult.

But with Tomiyasu’s fitness uncertain and an opportunity to rest White between a couple of league games, Cedric is hardly going to get a better chance to make the lineup than on Wednesday.

Arteta is reportedly expected to make changes in the cup, and you could understand that approach.

The primary focus has to be on the Premier League and the Europa League, two big opportunities for silverware and qualification to next season’s Champions League.

The League Cup is a fairly significant distraction, particularly as rounds four, five, and the two-legged semi-final all take place between December 19th and the end of January. That’s an extra four games for the calendar over an already busy period.

Ideally, you want to progress in every possible competition. But Arteta would probably be sensible to attempt to do so with a fully-rotated side in the League Cup.