Mikel Arteta has explained how he’ll try and prevent his Arsenal squad from suffering a League Cup upset against Fleetwood Town on Tuesday night.
Arsenal travel away to Fleetwood Town for their League Cup fourth round match in midweek, which is a significantly lower-profile fixture than the last midweek game away to Bayern Munich, or this Sunday’s game away to Liverpool.
But Arsenal fans will be well aware that these are the games that can sometimes trip you up. You only have to look at last season’s FA Cup exit to lower-league Southampton, the only competition where the Gunners didn’t reach the final or win the trophy.
Speaking to the media ahead of the game, Mikel Arteta was asked how he plans to avoid another upset on this occasion.
“Show [the players] the Arsenal shirt and what we represent, and that’s it, and we need to go there and win the game,” Arteta said. “It’s very simple.
“Our reputation, our pride, everything is in play. So every time you play a football match, and especially against a team in a different division, respect the game, respect every opponent because they deserve to do that, and then try to win and try to play a bit better than them.
“We all have one [upset] at some stage. We know the risk, and in football, things can get very equal the moment you are able to match certain things, and that’s why our basics and habits have to be through the roof to be able to win the game.”
Arsenal are likely to rotate for the League Cup clash, given the upcoming trip to Anfield. This is also perhaps a rare chance for some youth players to get a lower-stakes opportunity to feature.
But those potential changes carry some risks, and it’s up to whichever players end up out there on the pitch to take things seriously and get Arsenal into the next round.
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