Mikel Arteta makes thoughts on Carabao Cup clear ahead of Preston vs Arsenal

Mikel Arteta has emphasised the significance of the Carabao Cup as Arsenal aim to get back to winning ways in Wednesday’s fourth-round tie at Preston.

The Gunners slipped five points behind Premier League frontrunners Manchester City after a 2-2 draw with Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.

Arteta will continue to miss captain Martin Odegaard and Riccardo Calafiori for the journey to Deepdale, while Gabriel’s condition is being evaluated following his early exit against Liverpool.

Fellow defender Jurrien Timber was also taken off, but Arteta confirmed it was simply a precautionary measure.

“We have four very demanding matches now in all different competitions and we want to win them all,” Arteta declared.

“We have to start tomorrow to create good momentum again and we’ll put a strong team out there.”

Arteta gave goalkeeper Jack Porter, along with fellow teenagers Josh Nichols, Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri their full senior debuts in the 5-1 home victory over Bolton in the previous round.

Two more teenagers, Maldini Kacurri and Ismeal Kabia, made their first appearances off the bench, but Arteta insisted that the Carabao Cup remains a tournament he wants to win.

“It’s important because it keeps everybody alive, you maintain the winning habit, which is really important,” he expressed.

“You show that you care about the competition regardless of who you play, so you have to compete in every match. The margins are so small and tomorrow we’re going to face a really tough opponent.”

William Saliba is back in contention after serving his suspension, and Arteta has signalled his intention to shuffle the pack for the clash at Preston, tapping into the depth of his squad.

“There are players who haven’t played that much and they will have their chance tomorrow, that’s for sure,” declared the Arsenal boss.

“But you have to earn the right to play and when you have that right, you have to perform and perform in a way to impact the team to win the game.

“That’s what we’ll demand from everybody, whether you’re young, experienced or playing regularly for us.”

Preston, fresh from their giant-killing act against Fulham where they triumphed in an epic penalty shoot-out 16-15 setting a new record for the tournament after drawing 1-1, are looking to cause another upset.

Paul Heckingbottom, who took over the reins at Deepdale in August, is encouraging his squad to relish their encounter with one of the nation’s elite teams.

He said: “It’s one of the best teams in the country and it’ll be a full house. It’ll be a great atmosphere, testing yourself against the best of opposition. It’s one that I think everyone’s looking forward to as a club.

“It’s sort of a reward for past performances. If you deliver, and we know we’d have to give a great performance and be really strong, be clinical at one end and be really strong at the other end similar to Fulham then who knows what could happen.”