Gooners are back

Last updated : 02 December 2008 By Tony Scholes

I don't think many of us would have envisaged this as we stepped into Gigg Lane back in August for the first round tie. But here we are, Bury and Oldham beaten and then two London Premier League clubs in Fulham and Chelsea.

We're still celebrating that Chelsea win, and that has brought us to tonight where we are already guaranteed the fantastic sight of seeing all of the home stands full.

It is 26 years since we last reached this stage of the League Cup. Then we faced Spurs at White Hart Lane and came from behind to win 4-1. I never imagined we'd beat Fulham despite their poor record over the years at Burnley. I certainly didn't even dream we might beat Chelsea. But we're here, bring on the Gooners.

It's 41 years since we last played them in this competition. A 3-3 home draw was followed by a 2-1 defeat in the replay at Highbury. Andy Lochhead, Brian O'Neil and Willie Irvine scored in the first game when we led 2-0 after eight minutes but were thankful for Willie's late equaliser. Irvine scored again in the replay as we bowed out.

Our last home win against them was just about 35 years ago, in December 1973. We were 1-0 down that day but goals from Ray Hankin and Colin Waldron won it for us. In the following season a Peter Noble goal gave us a 1-0 win at Highbury, our last ever win against them.

Our Opponents


Arsenal are established as one of the top four clubs in the country. They may well be the outsiders of those four for the Premier League this season but they certainly lead the way in terms of player development. They are a young side and have such an array of young talent that they can play a different team in the Carling Cup, a competition that Wenger refers to as the Development Cup.

One thing we do know, no matter who plays, is that they will play the sort of football that is so pleasing on the eye. And, like us, they can win at Chelsea.

Click HERE to see all Arsenal's results this season


Incredibly there has been talk of a crisis this season and even suggestions that it might be time for a change of manager. If anything like that does happen I think it will be a sad loss for English football. Crisis? I think most clubs in the country would love to be in their position.

Team News


Mikael Silvestre will provide the experience tonight. They'v confirmed that he will play as will Nicklas Bendtner (a scorer in the FA Cup tie at the Turf at the beginning of the year.

Arsenal are expected to line up: Lukasz Fabianski, Paul Rodgers, Gavin Hoyte, Mikael Silvestre, Kieran Gibbs, Jack Wilshere, Aaron Ramsey, Mark Randall, Fran Merida, Nicklas Bendtner, Carlos Vela.

Should that be the line up, and despite the inclusing of Silvestre at the age of 31, the average age of the team will be 19 years 8 months.

Click HERE to see the full Arsenal squad


Owen Coyle will have to make at the very least a change on the bench with Steven Thompson cup tied, but the likelihood is he will name the same starting eleven as beat Derby on Saturday. That will leave places for three more on the bench and I fully expect Wade Elliott, who was close to playing on Saturday, to be one of those named.

Burnley's expected line up: Brian Jensen, Michael Duff, Clarke Carlisle, Steven Caldwell, Stephen Jordan, Graham Alexander, Chris Eagles, Kevin McDonald, Chris McCann, Robbie Blake, Martin Paterson. Subs: Diego Penny, Joey Gudjonsson, Alan Mahon, Wade Elliott, Alex MacDonald, Jay Rodriguez, Ade Akinbiyi.

Click HERE to see all our results against Arsenal