Arsenal have drawn Brentford away from home in the next round of the League Cup, the Gunners’ first game in the competition this season.
The tie is certainly not an easy one, particularly at Brentford’s home ground, but there’s also the added spice of a return to the stadium for Arsenal loanee David Raya.
Though Raya is expected to join Arsenal permanently next summer, he’s officially only on loan at the club at the moment, which makes things complicated.
According to the EFL Cup rules for 2023/24, “players registered on a temporary basis will not be eligible to play unless the club holding his full registration gives its written consent”.
In other words, Raya can play against Brentford, but only if they give him permission to do so.
There’s also a rule against players playing for multiple clubs in the same season, but that’s no issue here, as Raya had already left before Brentford’s opening win over Newport County on penalties.
There’s no official word on whether Brentford plan to give Raya permission to play in the match, but you’d think they’d be likely to do so.
From the start, club sources with Arsenal and Brentford have suggested this “loan” with an option to buy is effectively being considered a permanent deal.
The structure of the move was reportedly just to help the Gunners with any Financial Fair Play concerns in a big summer of spending.
If Brentford were to refuse Raya the chance to play for Arsenal in the game, that would seemingly be at odds with the general understanding of their stance on the move.
But ultimately it’s up to them, and we’ll have to wait for their decision.
When is Brentford vs Arsenal in the Carabao Cup?
On Monday, Arsenal confirmed that the third round game against Brentford will take place on 27 September at the Bees’ Gtech Community Stadium with a 7.45pm kick off.