Arsenal Vs West Ham United: When is the Carabao Cup important?

Arsenal host West Ham United in what is often considered the lesser Caraboa Cup. If they win, they proceed to the semi-finals. At what point does should the competition become important?

Arsenal are in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup, which used to be known as the Carling Cup, League Cup and the Worthington Cup in the late ’90s, if you can remember that far. Yes, this is the midweek cup that no one really cares about until you get to the closing stages.

Catch the latest episode of the Pain in the Arsenal podcast here

But Arsenal, a team that has almost always played a weakened side under Arsene Wenger, especially as the years have passed by, now find themselves in the quarter-finals of this year’s iteration of the competition and, in welcoming an embattled but somewhat limited and strapped West Ham United to the Emirates Stadium, have a perfectly sound chance of reaching the semi-finals for the first time since 2011.

More from Pain in the Arsenal

• 3 standout players from 1-0 victory over Everton
• 3 positives & negatives from Goodison Park victory
• Arsenal vs PSV preview: Prediction, team news & lineups
• 3 talking points from Arsenal’s victory at Goodison Park
• Mikel Arteta provides Gabriel Martinelli injury update after Everton win

In fact, the League Cup, or whatever you want to call it, is a competition that the Gunners haven’t won since 1993. It is the only domestic glory that Wenger is yet to taste, something that, as a man of his unquenchable competitiveness, will undoubtedly ruffle his usually so composed feathers. So here arises a unique opportunity: Winning a trophy that has not previously been won.

Given the nature of the competition, Wenger has been hesitant to field his more established players. While an experienced and accomplished team has guided their way through the rounds thus far, it is not the same calibre of player that has been featuring in the Premier League. Theo Walcott instead of Alexis Sanchez; Mohamed Elneny instead of Aaron Ramsey; Rob Holding instead of Laurent Koscielny.

And it seems as though Wenger will again play his ‘Cup Team’ on Tuesday night. Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of the match, Wenger revealed that Theo Walcott would start after recovering from a groin injury. I think that perfectly indicates the pattern of his thinking; if Walcott features, a player who has been emblematic of the Gunners’ cup forrays this season, then it is safe to assume that the traditional cup team will be utilised.

However, there comes a point where the question of priority needs to be asked, and answered. Obviously, the league will always be the first competition that Wenger focused on. And so it should be. But with the title now gone and the Europa League offering a perfectly realistic option of securing qualification for next season’s Champions League, at what point should the opportunity of a trophy be taken seriously?

Next: Arsenal Vs West Ham: Predicted starting XI

The Carabao Cup is not a well-thought-of competition. It has been and always will be the little sibling, the afterthought, the one that no one really cares about or pays any attention to. But it is still a trophy, and at some point soon, Arsenal should start caring.