Arsenal vs AFC Wimbledon: 4 things we’d like to see

AFC Wimbledon are next up on the fixture list for Arsenal as they host the League One outfit at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday for their third round tie. Here is what we’d like to see in the game.

Everyone expects this to be a walkover. You can’t really blame them. In the 92 matches that Mikel Arteta has managed Arsenal he has never faced a side as low down the English football pyramid as the Dons.

Currently sitting in seventh place in League One, the next lowest ranked team was Portsmouth in March 2020 who were third at the time of the FA Cup fifth round clash. The visitors are likely to bring a strong following up from south London but the odds are still heavily in the Gunners’ favour.

Understandably, much of the attention is directed towards the weekend. The small matter of a North London Derby is to come as Spurs travel to the Emirates for a fixture that could bring the teams to level pegging in the Premier League table.

Arsenal vs AFC Wimbledon: 4 things we’d like to see from Mikel Arteta and his side for Wednesday’s EFL Cup third round clash

It’s a huge game for both sides. Focus should, however, be on Wednesday.

Much of the talk during the build-up has been around which young players should be given a chance, and indeed whether Arteta will opt to head down that route having previously gone quite strong in domestic cup competitions during his reign.

Arguably, his ‘weakest’ side was the aforementioned FA Cup tie with Portsmouth, so it’s expected we’ll see some new faces in midweek for some exciting debuts.

Elsewhere in the game there are a few other points to look at as Arsenal bid for a win that will take them one step closer to lifting a trophy they haven’t held aloft for over 28 years, when Steve Morrow’s goal handed Arsenal a 2-1 win over Sheffield Wednesday at Wembley.

The good ol’ times.

1. Goals, Goals, Goals

After the start to the season that Arsenal had, back-to-back 1-0 wins would have been welcomed with open arms. Even if those came against two sides who could be dicing with relegation this season, just getting the winning feeling back and showing some defensive solidity was a breath of fresh air.

Smashing West Brom 6-0 in the second round was one of the more enjoyable days in recent times. Regardless of the quality of opposition, wins of that margin are hard to come by.

Without getting too carried away, a couple more goals than one would be welcome against AFC Wimbledon. Arsenal should be beating their League One opponents. It’d be nice to do so with some front-footed vigour and penetration.

Despite the team that is fielded on Wednesday set to be nothing like the one that will host Tottenham, loading the scoreline up with three or four goals will maintain the feel-good atmosphere that is building up around the club.

The form books tends to go out of the window on derby day and beating third division sides on home soil doesn’t have a great degree of impact on the team, nor does it tell us all too much, but it’s better than a poke in the eye.

Hopefully whatever team is put out can play with some freedom, get some early goals and take any senior players who start off nice and early for a rest.

No team has been involved in more goals in League One this season than Wimbledon…

Continued…