Wigan Athletic v Arsenal: Robin van Persie last night declared Arsenal's promising crop of youngsters were determined to repay the faith of boss Arsene Wenger by reaching the League Cup final.JJB Stadium, 7.45On TV: Sky Sports 1
Arsenal take on Wigan tonight in the first leg of their semi-final encounter, with Wenger having strengthened his squad by including several first-team regulars.
While Thierry Henry, Sol Campbell and Jens Lehmann are again rested, Gilberto will captain the side as he did in the last round against Doncaster. Freddie Ljungberg, Mathieu Flamini, Jose Antonio Reyes, Alexander Hleb and Pascal Cygan also feature but, otherwise, it will be another youthful line-up.
Van Persie himself will not figure tonight after suffering a small crack in his toe. Centre-half Sol Campbell has been ruled out due to a "slight knock". The 22-year-old Dutchman nevertheless revealed just how much reaching the final would mean to the youngsters at the club, who have been trusted in the competition so far this season.
"We have a few very good young players and I'm happy that we have a boss like Arsene Wenger as he believes in the youth and that's fantastic for young players," he declared.
"If you see me, Flamini, Gael Clichy and Fabregas, as well as several others, they're fantastic players and the manager gives them his trust."
Arsenal's problem is their away form so far this season has been awful, with a last-minute equaliser and penalty shoot-out needed to scrape through at Doncaster.
While they won 3-2 win at the JJB Stadium in November, that was one of just two wins in 10 Premiership away games so far this season. The Gunners also lost a League Cup semi-final two seasons ago, when another young line-up finally met their match against Middlesbrough.
Van Persie added: "Even though we didn't play fantastically at Doncaster, we fought for each other and that's important for a young side. When I played at Feyenoord, I played with young players as I do here, but the difference is big.
"If you take Gael Clichy and a 19-year-old left-back from Feyenoord, there'd be a big difference. The same with Philippe Senderos. So I think the future looks bright for the club."
Wigan boss Paul Jewell, meanwhile, wants midfielder Jimmy Bullard to remain at Wigan, help the club reach the League Cup final and maintain their remarkable form in the Premiership.
With the transfer window open until the end of the month, 27-year-old Bullard has been linked with moves to Manchester City and Middlesbrough.
He is expected to return to the side for tonight's encounter.
"I don't want anyone to leave and I don't envisage anyone going out the door," said Jewell. "But I will always be the type that if a player comes to me and says he wants to leave then as long as things are right he can go.
"Jimmy has never said to me he is unhappy, and I have never had any offers for him. We were having a bit of a joke about it, because I am sure I saw (City manager) Stuart Pearce and (Middlesbrough's) Steve McClaren in trees behind the training ground."
Instead, Jewell is looking to strengthen his squad. "We do need two or three bodies coming in. We are working exceptionally hard behind the scenes, but it looks as though two players we were hoping to bring in will not be coming."
Austrian defender Paul Scharner stands by to make his Wigan debut tonight, while club captain Arjan de Zeeuw is available again after breaking his nose against Birmingham.
