Arsenal vs Bolton Wanderers Carabao Cup 2024 online streaming: kick-off time, TV schedule, how to watch online

Arsenal host Bolton Wanderers today in the third round of the Carabao Cup. It’s been a while since the two clubs met – you have to go back to 2012 when Mikel Arteta started in midfield for the Gunners as they drew 0-0 at the Reebok Stadium.

Bolton currently sit 19th out of 24 in League One with seven points. They have stumbled to a 2-1-3 record to open the season having conceded just six goals, five of which came in one game. They narrowly missed out on promotion to the Championship last season, losing in the play-off final. Former Arsenal Academy man Jordi Osei-Tutu is a regular replacement for manager Ian Evatt’s side.

Mikel Arteta and Arsenal face a dilemma. Okay, not really a dilemma, but there are competing priorities for today’s game. Arteta is going to rotate his team. Tough. It’s important that the first-choice players get some rest, the likes of Gabriel Jesus and Raheem Sterling play their way to fitness and form, and youngsters like Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly get some matchday experience.

At the same time, Arsenal and Arsenal’s players want to win every time they step onto the pitch. More Carabao Cup games means more opportunities for the young lads to play and the seniors to stay sharp. And while the Carabao Cup is a distant third in importance, it’s still a chance to win silverware, something Arsenal haven’t won since the 2020 FA Cup. Part of the reason Arsenal had to (and still have to) improve their depth is so that cup competitions aren’t disposable.

Last season Arsenal played West Ham in this round of the competition. Mikel Arteta fielded a heavily rotated line-up who lost 3-1 and that was it. I wouldn’t say the players didn’t try, but the performances were flat and it seemed that no one from the manager down to the lower echelons had any qualms about dropping out of the competition.

Bolton are no West Ham. The Gunners would need to beat a League One team at home, even with a rotated line-up. The biggest question mark is in goal, and that could be a sticking point for Mikel Arteta. The Gunners will start 16-year-old Jack Porter in goal with David Raya nursing a minor injury, Neto playing in a cup tie and both Tommy Setford and Lucas Nygaard out of action. The Arsenal goalkeepers available for today’s game are 16-year-old Porter, 17-year-old Khari Ranson and 18-year-old Alexei Rojas. Even with the expected talent gap between a rotated Arsenal line-up and Bolton, you never know what you’re going to get from a teenage keeper making his first first-team appearance.

Arsenal will be without Leandro Trossard, who is fortunate to serve out a one-match suspension for picking up two yellow cards against Manchester City. Martin Ødegaard is expected to be out until at least November. Mikel Merino could return in mid- to late October. Takehiro Tomiyasu’s status is a question mark. Oleksandr Zinchenko is expected to be out for several weeks with a recurring calf injury, Mikel Arteta revealed in his pre-match press conference. Jurrien Timber was reportedly not with the team at the hotel last night, so he will not be in the matchday squad.

Arsenal – Porter, Nichols, Kiwior, Calafiori, Lewis-Skelly, Rice, Jorginho, Nwaneri, Saka, Sterling, Jesus

WHO: Arsenal vs Bolton Wanderers
WHAT: The EFL/Carabao Cup 4th round
WHERE: The Emirates Stadium, London
WHEN: Wednesday, September 25, 11:45 a.m. PT | 2:45 p.m. ET | 7:45 p.m. GMT
HOW TO WATCH: Live streaming on the Paramount+ app

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