With all due respect to the competition itself and the competitors, I'll keep today's blog more brief than usual. Arsenal will most likely go into the cup match against their third league opponents with a significantly changed line-up. There are several reasons for this, but the most important ones are to conserve strength and to give players a chance to play with a wider squad. Although the EFL Cup is not a priority for Mikel Arteta, he will certainly be looking to win it. And he must start with that in the match against Port Vale. There is no doubt about the favourite for the clash, which is scheduled for tonight (24 Sep 2025 at 21:00 CET). Let's take a look together at all the key information you need to know before tonight's game.
Form
We discuss Arsenal's form week in week out in every blog, now even more often, and I'll just briefly review the Gunners' last league game against Manchester Citythat I haven't had a chance to review yet. I honestly don't know much about Port Vale, but that doesn't stop us from have gone through the results so far and the current form. Let's do it!
Arsenal
Arsenal in their last league game drew with Manchester City at the Emirates Stadium. On the draw result and the play shown can be viewed from several angles. A draw with a title rival at home is a loss of two points. Arsenal, on the other hand, saved a point in stoppage time. Taking into account the play shown, the home players were more active from the opening whistle, but they let an early goal from a fast break situation. From that point on, the Cityzens players concentrated mainly on defensive activity, which further underlined Arsenal's optical superiority. The Gunners were undoubtedly the more active team, but were they creating chance after chance? They certainly didn't. Overall. he split the Arsenal rating into two parts. Game performance was not bad, but it only applies to the game after the opponent's whitewash. In front of the goal, the charges Mikel Arteta's they couldn't create enough scoring chances.
I dare say that the league performance so far will have virtually no impact on Arsenal's first appearance in the EFL Cup, which is just around the corner. The Emirates Stadium footballers can go into the game against the outsider from Port Vale with a clear head.
Port Vale
Port Vale, the unit that is currently is active in the English League One (the third highest competition in England), has already had a good start to the new season twelve competitive matches. Yes, you read that correctly. The Port Vale team played two matches in the EFL Cup and, as you can guess, won both of them. First, by the narrowest of margins, Port Vale players have dealt with Blackpool, then after the same result knocked out Birmingham in the second division. In addition to the EFL Cup, the team led by experienced manager Darren Moore has also started its journey in another cup, the EFL Trophy, where it has so far done well with Leeds' twenty-one 4-1.
In league competition, however, things are looking much more pessimistic for Port Vale. Nine games played, two wins, two draws, five defeats and a negative record of 8:10. This is certainly not a record that deserves a positive evaluation. With eight points gained after nine rounds, it is not surprising that Port Vale are in the lower reaches of the table, specifically in 19th place (League One plays 24 teams). One of the few positives about the league results are last two games. Both ended in victories for Port Vale and it is actually only thanks to them that the team has climbed out of the relegation places for the time being.
Long-term form, or form since the beginning of the season cannot be evaluated very positively, however. in the last few weeks we can see a significant improvement in all competitions. In their last six matches across all competitions in which Port Vale have played, they have a record of four wins and two defeats. Compared to their form at the start of the new season, Port Vale's footballers are currently significantly better off.
Team and expected line-up
Cup games in the case of the Gunners almost always represent an opportunity for players of the wider squad and the game at Vale Park will be no exception. It is expected that Mikel Arteta will make quite a few changes to Arsenal's starting lineup. There are many options, despite the extensive staff. Let's take a look at the most likely (at least in my opinion) team composition for the EFL Cup.
Kepa Arrizabalaga
When I transferred Kepy wrote about the fact that he will definitely appear in the starting lineup in some games, I was referring to games like today's. First competitive start for the Spanish goalkeeper at Arsenal is more than clear in my opinion.
Ben White
The English defender of this hasn't played much this season due to injury. But now he should finally be back in the squad and fully healthy. The cup game is probably the best chance for him personally to get back to match rhythm and fitness. I'd be very surprised if Ben White was not part of the starting eleven against Port Vale.
Cristhian Mosquera
Cristhian Mosquera stunned all Arsenal fans in the absence of William Saliba. Somewhere I even read a huge compliment about him, which was that his performance was so good that the Gunners' game didn't even notice the absence of a French stopper in the line-up. I couldn't agree more with that statement. Despite the fact that the first choice at right centre-back remains the more experienced William Saliba for Mikel Arteta, the The young Spanish defender has a lot to offer to the team. That's why we will definitely see him on the field and maybe even more than expected. In the cup game he should definitely start at the expense of the aforementioned Saliba, who has only recently returned to the team after an ankle injury.
Gabriel
A minor injury that sidelined Piero Hincapie means the second spot in the midfield pairing of interest Gabriel. Although the Brazilian defender also deserves some rest, I think he will start today. If the situation is favourable, he can play in the centre of defence (assuming Piero Hincapié is really missing). to replace Riccardo Calafiori or Jurriën Timber during the game.
Myles Lewis-Skelly
Young English defender on the pitch this year doesn't get as much space as he did last season and a cup match is the perfect opportunity to ask for more playing time with his performance. Myles Lewis-Skelly has indisputably enormous qualities and, given his age, enormous potential, but at the moment the Italian defender Riccardo Calafiori is the number one on the left side of the defence. But today we should see the boyhood Gunner in the starting lineup.
Christian Nørgaard
Experienced Danish footballer could also finally see his first start since the opening whistle in Arsenal colours. Christian NørgaardLike many of his teammates, he has been battling an injury since the beginning of the season that has kept him out of action until now. Tonight's game, in addition to giving him his first real minutes in a jersey with a cannon on his chest, is also a great opportunity to get into match condition.
Declan Rice
Here I have was deciding between Declan Rice and Martín Zubimendi. I guess I can tell you now that I expect another central midfielder, Mikel Merino, to play as a top striker this time. That narrows down my choice of a second central midfielder. So why do I think Declan Rice is more likely to start? A three-league rival will want Arsenal excel especially in toughness and commitment, and these are attributes that are among Declan Rice's greatest strengths. Plus Martín Zubimendi has played all of Arsenal's games so far, all the more reason to give him a rest in the cup game.
Ethan Nwaneri
Another youngster and Arsenal academy graduate who will most likely be on the field tonight from the first minute. Last season Ethan Nwaneri He got a lot of space in the cup games and it was there that he showed what he had. I don't see any reason why he shouldn't be in the game designer position todaywhich is the most natural for him and according to his own words.
Max Dowman
Are we going to see in the starting eleven of a 15-year-old super-talent who Max Dowman without a doubt? Let me answer with another question, why not? We could see his abilities both in the summer training and in the Premier League match against Leeds, in which he made his competitive debut for Arsenal's A team. Today's game is the perfect opportunity for the English youngster to pick up valuable minutes in adult football. As I mentioned a few lines above, Mikel Arteta took the same route last year with Ethan Nwaneri, so I expect it to be similar this year with Max Dowman.
Leandro Trossard
In my opinion, Sunday's game against Newcastle will play a role in the choice of left winger for today's game. A league game definitely carries more weight in Mikel Arteta's eyes than the cup one, and so today on the left wing Leandro Trossard. It's not that the Belgian didn't have the quality or was out of form, not at all, but Gabriel Martinelli clearly had the basics covered. I mean the basis in the most important games. Another option is Eberechi Eze, but I also expect him to get more space at St James’ Park.
Mikel Merino
The only typical spike striker the Spanish manager has currently available is Viktor Gyökeres. I don't believe that Mikel Arteta will risk his injury before the upcoming league game against Newcastle, so someone else must logically start at number nine. The most likely option in my eyes Mikel Merino, who filled in at this position last season. And he didn't do badly at all.
Substitutes
Given that the starting lineup itself is a pretty big guess this time around and maybe even a bit of a wish, it won't be easy to put together replacements. Anyway, I'll try to go about it as rationally as possible.
If we're counting on Kepa between the three sticks tonight, it makes the most sense to me that David Raya, who has played all the games so far, was given the day off. And by time off, I mean really time off. The backup goalie position could be filled by Tommy Setford. The rest of the bench should be more or less stellar. Maybe some promising youngsters from the academy will be among the replacements, but I suppose Mikel Arteta will leave nothing to chance and include his mainstays in the team. The replacements will probably not include Jurriën Timber, William Saliba, Riccardo Calafiori, Martín Zubimendi, Eberechi Eze, Gabriel Martinelli, Bukayo Saka and Viktor Gyökeres.
EFL Cup match will not intervene due to injury Gabriel Jesus, Kai Havertz and now, unfortunately, also Noni Maduekewho will miss two months due to knee problems. The question remains about the participation of Martin Ødegaardwho should reportedly be fit for this weekend's game against Newcastle. Will Mikel Arteta want to give him space on the pitch and risk him getting injured? I highly doubt it, and that's why I'm leaning towards the Norwegian not being in the squad for the cup game. The next and hopefully last player to struggle with an injury is Piero Hincapié. In his case, it should be a minor groin injury, but according to the latest reports, it will rule him out of the squad for the match against Port Vale.
About the opponent
As I mentioned earlier today, I know very little about Port Vale, so I'll avoid any analysis of the team. I don't know either the players or the system, so it doesn't make sense for me to go into an evaluation that would not be comprehensive or objective anyway. I could look up stats on individual players, but praising or singling out players I don't know just based on numbers is not relevant to me. Same with evaluating a game or a game system. In the introduction to the blog we at least discussed the results and current form of Port Valewhich I take to be sufficient in this case. I hope you will all understand why I am now moving on.
Match
An unambiguous the favourite of the match is of course the visiting Arsenalwho, according to all expectations, should easily beat his opponent. However, we all know that cup matches can be tricky, so Mikel Arteta's charges cannot underestimate the opponents from the lower competition at any cost. However, if Arsenal approach the match responsibly, there should be no doubt about the winner.
As for the game itself. North London footballers will set the pace of the game. It logically follows that Arsenal will outperform their opponents in the vast majority of the relevant match statistics, such as ball possession, territorial superiority, chances or shots on target. The Gunners, even with a much-changed line-up, should stroll to an uneventful victory and progress to the next round. And that's exactly what I expect to happen. I predict Arsenal to win 3:0.
Next match
Arsenal will travel for their next game in the Premier League on the hot ground of St James’ Park. The match between Newcastle and Arsenal is scheduled for this weekend, on Sunday 28 September 2025 at 17:30 (CET).
See you next time, I'll look forward to it!
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Editor, administrator and editor of the True Gunner Diary website, but above all a devoted Arsenal fan. I started with sports articles at the Tipsport bookmaker, where I have published more than 100 blogs. If you want to know more about me, check out the section of the same name here on the site.