Arsenal secure David Raya agreement as Brentford rotation reaffirmed after scheduling decision

Arsenal’s match against Brentford in the Carabao Cup has been scheduled to take place on Wednesday 27 September at 19:45 BST. The game will take place three days after the North London derby against Tottenham and three days before a trip to Bournemouth in the Premier League.

Although to this point Arsenal have been able to manage with one game per week, after the international break, kicking off with an away trip to Everton, they will play five games in the space of two weeks. It is for this reason that the club looked to reinforce the squad and hold onto assets despite interest from elsewhere in the likes of Thomas Partey, Jorginho and Emile Smith Rowe.

The midweek game reaffirms that need and Mikel Arteta will be expected to make changes for the clash. Among those switches is sure to be between the sticks.

Aaron Ramsdale has been the number one since the fourth match of the 2021/22 season when he replaced Bernd Leno, who eventually left. However, the arrival of David Raya this summer has changed the dynamic and brought Premier League starting-level competition to the fold.

Raya, though, was signed on an initial loan deal instead of a permanent one meaning that were Arsenal to play Brentford in the Premier League he could not play. However, ruling 6.3 of the EFL’s Carabao Cup 2023/24 rule book says the following: «Players registered on a temporary basis will not be eligible to play unless the club holding his full registration gives its written consent (also subject to any restrictions on the number of loan players prescribed by applicable Premier League Rules or League Regulations).»

It is understood by football.london that David Raya is indeed eligible to play against his “parent club” with the Bees agreeing to the