Arsenal team news: Milner ruled out of trip to Emirates

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Bruce Talbot

2025-10-28T10:45+00:00

James Milner is ruled out of Wednesday's Carabao Cup tie with a minor muscle injury. 📷 James Boardman.

Albion head to Arsenal on Wednesday looking to reach the last eight of the Carabao Cup for the first time in 45 years.

Team news

At his pre-match press conference, Fabian Hurzeler said that midfielder James Milner won't be in the squad because of a minor muscle injury.

Still missing are Kaoru Mitoma, Brajan Gruda, Jack Hinshelwood and Joel Veltman although they are close to being available again.

Fabian's thoughts on the Gunners...

"When you look at the league table, it tells the truth - they are doing well. They are very good out of possession, very good with set pieces. I think these are two main factors. What makes them so successful? They are very disciplined, everyone attacks the box, everyone defends the box. So it will be a big challenge, especially in terms of dealing with those set pieces."

On young players beginning to make their mark...

"We see in training that they're adapting quite well and now they are starting to show it in games as well. We can't expect magical things from them all the time. They need to be given the environment where they can improve and I see they're doing that well at the moment. We also have the belief and the trust that they can do it against big teams."

Stats and facts

Arsenal have won only one of their last five home games against Brighton across all competitions, losing three times (D1), including a 1-3 loss in the third round of the League Cup in 2022-23.

Albion are winless in each of their last four meetings with Arsenal in all competitions (D2 L2), since a 3-0 Premier League win at the Emirates under Roberto De Zerbi in May 2023.

Arsenal have been eliminated from seven of their last 10 League Cup home ties against fellow Premier League opposition, while the Gunners have also exited the competition at the hands of a top-flight club in all nine seasons since 2016-17.

Having beat both Oxford United and Barnsley 6-0 en route to the fourth round, Albion became the first team in League Cup history to win back-to-back games by at least six goals. The last Premier League team to score 13+ goals before the quarter-final were Arsenal in 2012-13, and the last to score 14+ were Middlesbrough (18 in 4 games) and Southampton (15 in six games) in 1996-97.

Diego Gómez has scored five goals across his two League Cup appearances and in the third round against Barnsley became the first player to net four goals in an away game in the competition since Júlio Baptista for Arsenal versus Liverpool in January 2007.

Match officials