Arsenal vs Sunderland LIVE: Carabao Cup result, final score and reaction

9 mins: Smith Rowe intercepts a pass in the middle of the pitch and looks to carry the ball into the Sunderland final third. He works it up the pitch but is clipped by Wright and wins a free kick.

Rob Holding switches the play with a pass over to Pepe on the right wing. He brings the ball under control but there are no options for him in the box and instead he passes it inside before Arsenal retreat.

6 mins: Pepe makes a run in behind Lynden Gooch as Ben White fires a diagonal ball over to him. Pepe brings the ball down and sets off towards the penalty area but the offside flag goes up. There is no VAR tonight so the on field decisions from the officials are the ones that count.

Sunderland’s Alex Pritchard receives the ball on the edge of the Arsenal box, he takes it around a defender and gets off a shot but leaves Bernd Leno with a simple save.

3 mins: Folarin Balogun is given the ball on the left side for Arsenal and he drives up the inside channel towards the box. Nketiah makes a run into the area from a central position but Balogun loses possession on just outside the box thanks to a well-timed tackle from Bailey Wright.

Kick off: The Gunners get the match underway with a long ball over to Emile Smith Rowe on the left side. He knocks the ball to Eddie Nketiah who is closed down and forced to send the ball back to Nuno Tavares.

The players make their way out onto the pitch. Bailey Wright leads out the visitors with Rob Holding captaining the Gunners this evening. Can League One’s Sunderland shock Arsenal and the Carabao Cup semi-finals? Lets find out.

The players have been warming up at the Emirates stadium ahead of kick off at 7:45pm. Sunderland have not lost a League Cup match since August 2018 when they went down 2-0 versus Sheffield Wednesday.

They have won six and drawn three of their nine games since, with both of their eliminations coming via penalty shootouts. Can they claim their biggest scalp over this campagin by beating Arsenal tonight?

Sunderland are looking to reach the League Cup semi-finals for the first time since 2013-14.

The Black Cats have progressed from their last three League Cup ties away against London clubs, a run which started with a 3-2 win at Arsenal in November 2002.

Arsenal will not use the ongoing disruption caused by Covid as an excuse for any dip in form, according to manager Mikel Arteta.

The Gunners have been one of the clubs who have fared best amid the latest outbreak sweeping through the Premier League, decimating the fixture schedule along the way.

Their 4-1 win at Leeds was the only top-flight game to survive on Saturday as the victory ensured Arsenal would be in the top four at Christmas.

Only Brentford (12) have scored more goals than Arsenal (11) in this season’s League Cup, with the Gunners also yet to concede this term.

They last had a longer run of goals scored without reply in the competition with a run of 15 between the 1987 final against Liverpool and their 1987-88 semi-final second leg tie against Everton.

Arsenal are unbeaten in their last 11 meetings with Sunderland - eight wins, three draws - since a 2-0 loss in the FA Cup fifth round in February 2012.

This is the first meeting between the sides since May 2017 which saw the Gunners triumph 2-0 in a Premier League encounter between the sides.