Arsenal will play Fleetwood Town in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night, with their usual travel arrangements set to be tested by the League Two club's limited facilities. The Gunners, who moved level at the top of the Premier League with a win over Everton at the weekend, will head to Highbury, a ground that shares its name with their former home.
Fleetwood are currently 18th in League Two. Arsenal will fly to Blackpool before making the short journey to Fleetwood, but when they arrive, their usual travelling fleet of three buses and six vans may struggle for parking, as the stadium boasts just ten spots.
Parking Challenges Before Kick-Off
The Times reports that Fleetwood players usually leave their cars on nearby streets around Highbury, which leaves Arsenal facing parking challenges before they have even begun their journey to the north west of England.
Fleetwood boss Matt Lawlor, English football's seventh-youngest manager, has overseen only 40 professional games. Last season he was at Waterford and narrowly kept them in the League of Ireland.
Lawlor said on the challenge of facing the champions of England: "Me and Mikel are doing the same job, aren't we? But obviously at different ends of the professional pyramid and different pressures. Hopefully in my career it becomes a more regular occurrence, doing stuff like this.
"That's the dream, that's the hope of any young manager. For me to go through a year ago to that, it is amazing. But I've worked my socks off to be in the position that I am in today at Fleetwood Town."
Arsenal's Squad Depth and Cup History
Arsenal are poised to ring the changes and showcase their squad depth. They have already shuffled their ranks earlier in the tournament when they saw off Ipswich at Portman Road, with teenage sensation Max Dowman grabbing a brace. He is again expected to get minutes.
The Gunners have endured several near misses in the Carabao Cup, which has been missing from the Arsenal trophy cabinet since 1993. It eluded Arsene Wenger throughout his tenure, and last term Mikel Arteta was beaten in the final by Manchester City. The year prior to that, he was undone in the semi-final.
