Arsenal could be two games from glory under Arteta

Mikel Arteta has been at Arsenal for two years and in that period he’s led the club to three semi-finals in three different competitions. That’s not bad going for a maiden dabble with management.

Sealing their passage to the Carabao Cup last four on Tuesday night with a 5-1 win over Sunderland at the Emirates, it was smiles all round ahead of Christmas Day.

Eddie Nketiah got a fine hat-trick with each goal better (and further away) than the last, with his third strike a delightful finish at the end of a beautiful sequence.

The much-maligned Nicolas Pepe also got in on the act, but as involved as he may have been, Charlie Patino scoring injury time on his senior debut for the club topped it all off.

Arsenal could be two games from glory under Arteta as Carabao Cup semi-finals could be switched to single legs to help fixture congestion

Now free to watch on as Brentford, Chelsea, Liverpool, Leicester, Tottenham and West Ham battle it out for the remaining three spots, given the nature of the festive period so far, it may be that Arteta and co are sat waiting for a one-leg semi-final affair.

Usually played out across two legs – home and away – the Telegraph revealed that a potential change in format is being considered to help manage the build-up of fixtures some teams are facing as a result of their league postponements.

This was the same route taken as last year and should COVID impact further games, including Wednesday’s quarter-finals, the EFL would be stuck to find appropriate fixture dates with the first legs of the semi-finals due to take place on the week commencing January 3.

Arsenal are one of the few sides to have got through the festive period without having had a Premier League game called off, although Arteta confirmed that there are now three players in his first team squad who’ve tested positive for COVID: Pablo Mari, Calum Chambers and Sambi Lokonga.

With every chance that the tie could be reduced to a single leg, it leaves Arsenal but two matches away from glory in a competition they’ve reached the final on eight occasions, but won only twice. No side has been runner-up in the Carabao Cup more than Arsenal.

The most recent trophy success came against Sheffield Wednesday in 1993, but since Arsenal have lost their last three finals against Chelsea, Birmingham and Manchester City.

Two trophies in two years would not go amiss. Qualification to the Europa Conference League is not what is being eyed in this instance; it’s silverware and success in a competition that’s brought heartache on three devastating days.