Mikel Arteta facing huge Arsenal team selection dilemma for Crystal Palace clash | OneFootball

Gunners boss has tricky balancing act for Carabao Cup quarter-final tie

Sat discussing his new contract back in September, it was made abundantly clear what Mikel Arteta wanted from the next phase of his time at Arsenal.

“We have to add trophies to that, for sure,” he said. “And we will do our best to achieve that.”

It is words like that which make this week so intriguing for Arteta as Arsenal prepares to face Crystal Palace twice in the space of four days.

Arteta has rotated in the Carabao Cup this season but has made it clear he wants to win a trophy

Arsenal FC via Getty Images

The first of those meetings is at Emirates Stadium on Wednesday in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup, before the Gunners travel to Selhurst Park in the Premier League on Saturday.

Arteta has traditionally used the Carabao Cup as opportunity to rotate his squad, and that has been the case this season.

In third round against Bolton, four teenagers - including 16-year-old goalkeeper Jack Porter started - and a further two came off the bench. In the last round at Preston, two teenagers started and two more were used as substitutes.

The temptation will be there for Arteta to rotate again on Wednesday given the packed schedule Arsenal face this month.

Saturday’s 0-0 draw with Everton showed how the schedule is taking its toll on them, with Declan Rice taken off in the second half after complaining of a niggle.

But Arteta should be inclined to go strong on Wednesday given his desire to win more silverware.

He has achieved plenty, both on and off the pitch, but one FA Cup does not feel like enough to show for it.

“That is the aim, that is the dream and that is what we work for every single day,” said Arteta last week, when asked about the need to win trophies.

“Actually getting it is going to be about very small details and margins like we have seen in the last two or three years. But we know that the next step is there and we are working towards that, for sure.”

The Carabao Cup is often derided as a lesser trophy, but its value for Arteta and this Arsenal squad could be far greater.

Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola often targeted the first available trophy of the season to use as a springboard for the final three months of the season.

For this group of players at Arsenal, the hope is that it could be the platform for latter success - be it this season or future ones.

Few players remain from the squad that won the FA Cup in 2020 and, as a result, this group have never experienced winning something together.

That feeling and knack of getting over the line is invaluable, and would undoubtedly stand Arsenal in good stead going forward.

It is why Arteta should be tempted to give David Raya a first ever appearance for Arsenal in the Carabao Cup.

Likewise, it should add to the desire to start Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard on a night when they would usually be wrapped in cotton wool.

If Arteta wants to “add trophies”, now is the time to show it.