Arsenal stand their best chance of winning the League Cup, yet it could prove the catalyst for so much more

Glass half empty, or glass half full? That’s often the question for Arsenal fans, and like so many times during the second half of Arsene Wenger’s reign as manager, it’s one that stems from bad injury news ahead of the Carabao Cup third-round encounter against Doncaster Rovers on Wednesday.

Danny Welbeck will miss at least the next three weeks with a groin injury that required a scan on Tuesday to determine the extent of the damage, and given his recent record, Wenger would be wise not to take any risks with his return. Mesut Özil will be absent, too, with the World Cup winner still nursing an inflamed knee that kept him out of the resilient 0-0 draw with Chelsea last weekend.

But where there is misery for some, there is opportunity for others, only this time the opportunity is to win the one domestic trophy that Wenger has never put his hands on. The Frenchman can boast an unrivalled seven FA Cups, three Premier League titles and seven Community Shields but he has never lifted the League Cup, mainly due to his preference to give youth a chance in the much maligned competition.

But this season it could all be different, for Wenger has a number of fringe players that will benefit greatly from cup competition this season. The likes of Per Mertesacker, Rob Holding and Mohamed Elneny will benefit greatly from playing in the competition in conjunction with the Europa League campaign, meaning they will receive regular first-team football most weeks, while it will offer Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Jeff Reine-Adelaide and Reiss Nelson the perfect platform to continue their exciting development.

Where Wenger once had to field a side in the League Cup that would boast an average age that would struggle to surpass the 20-year mark, now he has a genuine second string side that he does not need to depend on for the Champions League. Instead, Wenger can rest his big guns for the Premier League campaign, and utilise the squad elsewhere while keeping them match fit at the same time.

Now add that to the fact that their main rivals for the competition are all committed to Champions League football, and as a result may not take the tournament as seriously as Arsenal can afford to. Manchester United triumphed under similar circumstances last season, but with Jose Mourinho’s side top of the league and back in the European Cup, there’s no chance he’ll be risking his key players in the Carabao Cup.

Part of Wenger’s defence in recent years is that his FA Cup triumphs will help breed success. The Arsenal board clearly bought into this, given there was little other reason to keep him in the job come the end of last season, and if Arsenal take the League Cup seriously, who knows what a confidence-boosting Cup win come February next year, just when the Gunners tend to begin their annual collapse, will do for their season.

Arsenal do not play another team from last season’s Premier League top six until their trip to Manchester City on 5 November, giving them the best part of seven weeks to generate some real momentum. That includes the League Cup, and while it may not be the trophy that Arsenal fans crave so badly, success in the competition will at least end one of Wenger’s unwanted droughts, and could trigger the downfall of the other.