7,000 reasons for Brighton to take League Cup at Arsenal seriously
With the third round of the League Cup taking place, expect to hear the normal criticisms of the competition. That it is pointless. That it should be binned. That neither fans nor players care about it. And then try telling that to the 7,000 Brighton supporters heading to Arsenal.
This is not a League One club flocking to the Emirates for a big day out and the unique opportunity to see their side take on the famous Gunners.
Albion fans have been to Arsenal four times since 2017; the magic and thrill of facing the European Super League Elite Six has long since worn off.
Other than the prospect of beating Arsenal, the thing to most look forward to about a trip to the Emirates these days is that they sell cans of wine.
And as much as the WAB Team are fond of a nice half time red, drinking wine from a can is unlikely to have persuaded many other Brighton supporters to spend their Wednesday night in North London watching a League Cup tie with Arsenal.
No, the reason that there will be so many Seagulls in the Finsbury Park area is because the League Cup matters – or at least it does to #TeamsLikeBrighton.
The competition presents a genuine chance of reaching a Wembley final and winning a first major trophy in Albion history – notwithstanding the 1910 Charity Shield, of course. And with glory under the arch comes the prospect of a European tour.
Brighton have proven on their day that they can beat anyone in England. The 4-1 humiliation of Chelsea meant that since February 2020, the Albion have defeated all of the European Super League Elite Six clubs at least once.
If Brighton can pick off Manchester United, Spurs, Chelsea and Arsenal in the bread and butter of Premier League football, then they can definitely do it in the much-maligned League Cup.
The Big Six with their continental commitments, top four hopes and title dreams are less inclined to take the competition seriously at the best of times.
With a World Cup slapped in the middle of the season and horrific fixture congestion certain following the winter break, their disdain for the League Cup is only likely to be heightened this season in particular.
That can open the door for others to have a crack. Just ask fans of Birmingham City, Cardiff City, Swansea City, Bradford City, Sunderland, Southampton and Aston Villa, who have all reached the League Cup final in the past decade.
Why not the Albion in 2023? One of Manchester City or Chelsea will go in this round with the sides drawn to face each other at the Etihad Stadium.
If Brighton were to win at Arsenal, then two of the Big Six are out of the competition a long way away from the final. The chances of an unlikely finalist suddenly increase massively.
A memorable, record breaking League Cup run would further cement the feeling that Roberto De Zerbi is a special talent. De Zerbi has already forged quite the connection with Albion fans in a little over six weeks as head coach.
If he were to lead Brighton to Wembley, put silverware in the Amex trophy cabinet most recently opened for the League One title in 2011, and secure Europa League football, he would have his place in the history books assured inside six months of his arrival. Some legacy, that.
As Premier League leaders, Arsenal have far bigger fish to fry than the League Cup. Mikel Arteta surely makes wholesale changes with his side in title contention for the first team since, er, can anybody actually remember the last time the Gunners were fighting for the championship?
When Windows 3.1 was newly released? Decimalisation? Around the time the first penny farthing hit the market? When Henry VIII had just been crowned?
The point being that a strong Brighton XI should be able to overcome an Arsenal second string. The Seagulls have won on two of their past three visits to the Emirates after all against full strength Gunners line ups.
Everyone will have their own opinion on how strong De Zerbi should or will go. With Aston Villa at the Amex on Sunday set to be the majority of the squad’s final competitive action for six weeks, your correspondent’s personal view is that Brighton should play any first choice player not headed to Qatar.
That would mean Joel Vetlman, Lewis Dunk, Adam Webster, Solly March and Pascal Gross all starting. It would also open up opportunities for the likes of Billy Gilmour, Deniz Undav and Julio Enciso to come in and show what they can do.
You could even bend the above World Cup rule a little to fit in those set to represent their country but who have barely featured this season.
Tariq Lamptey and Jeremy Sarmiento might even appreciate getting some match practice under their belts before Ghana and Ecuador respectively kick off their campaigns in Qatar.
And of course League Cup specialist Jason Steele has to play, seeing as he is never anything but entertaining when given the opportunity to don the gloves.
Thinking about it, the likely presence of Steele between the posts might be a contributory factor to the massive number of Albion tickets sold.
Steele in goal, cans of wine and the chance for De Zerbi and the Albion to take a step on the path to history. There are three reasons for Brighton to go and win at Arsenal in the League Cup.
The 7,000 people in the away end offer 6,997 more.
