Arsenal vs. Bolton Wanderers | EFL Cup | Third Round

One of Arsenal's least favoured competitions in recent times, the EFL Cup returns to the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday evening, as the Gunners host Bolton Wanderers in the third round.

While the Gunners bypassed the first two rounds, their visitors have already had to navigate their way past Mansfield Town and Shrewsbury Town to set up a glamour tie with Mikel Arteta's men.

A team that were often called out for being easy to bully during the closing stages of the Arsene Wenger reign, Arsenal swapped their soft underbelly for the 'dark arts' against Premier League title rivals Manchester City on Sunday, tactics that so nearly paid dividends at a ground where they had not won since January 2015.

Arteta's 10 men defended with heart and courage for the entirety of the second half, only to drop two points in the most agonising fashion possible, as John Stones bundled in the Citizens' latest equalising goal on record in the Premier League in a gripping 2-2 stalemate.

Arsenal's bus-parking tactics at the Etihad certainly divided public opinion, but with 10 men away from home against Man City, no-one could realistically knock the Gunners for adopting a 5-4-0 shape after Riccardo Calafiori and Gabriel Magalhaes cancelled out Erling Haaland's 100th Citizens goal in the first half.

Still just two points adrift of Pep Guardiola's charges on account of maintaining their unbeaten start, Arsenal now switch their focus to a competition that they have only won twice in their history - and not since 1993 - as they endeavour to avoid a repeat of last season's fourth-round elimination versus West Ham United.

However, Arsenal's last two EFL Cup games at the Emirates Stadium have ended in defeat to Liverpool and Bolton Wanderers, meaning that the Gunners have not actually won a home match in the competition since 2021, when former Hale End star Charlie Patino was among the scorers in a 5-1 Sunderland slaughter.

Arsenal's pair of EFL Cup triumphs in 1987 and 1993 still trumps that of visitors Bolton, who have never conquered the competition and have a 66-year major trophy drought to try to end this term, having last earned a slice of silverware in the 1958 Community Shield.

The League One participants have already achieved their best result in the EFL Cup since the 2017-18 season, though, having edged out Mansfield Town on penalties in the opening round before a 2-0 victory over Shrewsbury Town in the second round, where ex-Arsenal youngster Jordi Osei-Tutu was on target.

However, not since the 2011-12 campaign have the Trotters progressed further than the third round of the EFL Cup, where their run was coincidentally brought to an end by Arsenal in the last 16, and inconsistency has been the theme for Ian Evatt's men so far this season.

Indeed, Bolton's last six matches across all tournaments have seen the visitors follow a loss-win pattern, as they followed up a humiliating 4-0 home defeat to Huddersfield Town on September 14 with a 5-2 drubbing of Reading at the weekend, as Dion Charles hit a first-half hat-trick.

Lying in a lowly 18th place in the League One table with just two wins from six, Bolton now reunite with Arsenal 12 years on from their last meeting - a goalless Premier League draw in 2011-12 - prior to which Andrey Arshavin and Park Chu-Young cancelled out a Fabrice Muamba opener in the EFL Cup last 16 earlier that year.