Arsenal earned their place in the last eight of the EFL Cup on Tuesday night with victory over Leeds United, and now await the draw to see who their next opponents will be.
The Gunners ran out 2-0 winners thanks to goals by Calum Chambers and Eddie Nketiah in the second half to assure their place in the quarter finals of the competition, but will have to wait until Saturday to find out who will stand between themselves and a place in the semi-final.
The big scalp of the week came as West Ham United defeated Manchester City in a penalty shoot-out, meaning we will have a new champion for the first time in five years, with the Citizens having won each final since the 2017-18 campaign.
The other underdog to make it through the round was Sunderland, who knocked out QPR who play in the division above, with the Black Cats representing the only side outside the Premier League remaining in the competition.
Brentford, Chelsea, Tottenham, Leicester and Liverpool are the remaining names in the hat for the draw, none of which can be underestimated.
Names will be drawn out of the hat at 10:30 live on Soccer AM this Saturday, with former Premier League showboater Jimmy Bullard admitting his excitement to be participating.
“I’m absolutely buzzing to be making the draw, it’s a real honour,” Bullard enthused(as quoted on the EFL website). One the proudest moments in my career was playing in the League Cup final in 2006 with Wigan Athletic. Even though the result didn’t go our way, to play in a Cup Final in front of all of my family and almost 70,000 fans was a very special occasion.”
While I think all of the top sides will be hoping they land Sunderland, I’m hoping that we will at least get the chance to continue our run in the competition at home, with some really strong competition remaining, although the chance to get our own back on Brentford wouldn’t be the worst opportunity.
Would Arsenal be favourites to win away at Leicester, West Ham or Tottenham? Am I giving some teams too much credit?
Patrick