Arsenal have drawn an away game against Brentford in the next round of the League Cup, creating an interesting situation for loanee David Raya.

Arsenal have drawn Brentford away from home in the next round of the League Cup, the Gunners’ first game in the competition this season.

The tie is certainly not an easy one, particularly at Brentford’s home ground, but there’s also the added spice of a return to the stadium for Arsenal loanee David Raya.

Though Raya is expected to join Arsenal permanently next summer, he’s officially only on loan at the club at the moment, which makes things complicated.

According to the EFL Cup rules for 2023/24, “players registered on a temporary basis will not be eligible to play unless the club holding his full registration gives its written consent”.

In other words, Raya can play against Brentford, but only if they give him permission to do so.

Thankfully, the Bees have granted that permission and the Spaniard is inline to make his Arsenal debut in the compeition.

There’s also a rule against players playing for multiple clubs in the same season, but that’s no issue here, as Raya had already left before Brentford’s opening win over Newport County on penalties.

From the start, club sources with Arsenal and Brentford suggested this “loan” with an option to buy is effectively being considered a permanent deal.

The structure of the move was reportedly just to help the Gunners with any Financial Fair Play concerns in a big summer of spending.

If Brentford had refused Raya the chance to play for Arsenal in the game, that would be at odds with the general understanding of their stance on the move.

When is Brentford vs Arsenal in the Carabao Cup?

On Monday, Arsenal confirmed that the third round game against Brentford will take place on 27 September at the Bees’ Gtech Community Stadium with a 7.45pm kick off.