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EFL Trophy: Arsenal’s last hope of ending the season with silverware

Arsenal's James Olayinka celebrates scoring their side's first goal of the game during the Papa John's Trophy third round match at the Emirates Stadium, London. Picture date: Tuesday January

While Arsenal have shown clear signs of improvement this season, the Gunners are still a long way away from competing for major honours. But could there still be some silverware on the cards?

Mikel Arteta's men have already bowed out of the FA Cup, Carabao Cup and currently sit 21 points behind Manchester City in the Premier League.

However, it's not all bad news for the Gunners. In fact, it's a big week for the club's under-21s who are competing in the EFL Trophy quarter-finals.

Kevin Betsy's side will take on Wigan Athletic at the DW Stadium on Tuesday night, with a place in the semi-finals hanging in the balance.

The young Gunners booked their place in the last eight following a 4-1 thrashing of Chelsea in the earlier round. James Olayinka, Mika Bierith, Omari Giraud-Hutchinson and Marcelo Flores all stamped their names onto the scoresheet as they powered past their London rivals.
Wigan are expected to provide a far sterner test as they come into this game as the League One leaders.

Leam Richardson's side are the Man City of lower league football having gone 17 straight games without defeat, winning all six of their most recent outings.

Arsenal, who haven't won anything since the 2020 Community Shield, will see the EFL Trophy as the last remaining opportunity for the men's team to taste some silverware this season - even if it is the under 21s.

Last year, the Gunners reached the second round before bowing out at hands of AFC Wimbledon.
Wigan, meanwhile, are two-time winners of the EFL Trophy having claimed the title in 1985 and 1999.

Who else is in the running?

League Two's Hartlepool United will host League One's Charlton Athletic at Victoria Park.
Pools booked their place in the quarter-final after knocking out Championship side Blackpool. The Addicks, meanwhile, beat MK Dons 1-0 to progress into the last eight.
Elsewhere, Rotherham will take on Cambridge United at the New York Stadium.

The U's pulled off one of the shocks of the season last month when they eliminated the world's richest club, Newcastle, from the world's oldest competition, the FA Cup. Since then, Mark Bonner's men have won four straight games in all competition.

Rotherham, on the other hand, will be no pushovers as the League One title contenders look to progress in the cup.
Lastly, there's an intriguing all-League Two clash featuring Sutton United and Harrogate Town.
The Yellows are unbeaten in seven straight games across all competitions and are one of the main contenders in the battle for automatic promotion.
Their Yorkshire opponents have some consistency issues having followed consecutive 4-0 defeats with a 3-0 win over Oldham last weekend.
With that in mind, a unpredictable clash can be expected at Gander Green Lane.

EFL Trophy quarter-final draw

Wigan Athletic vs Arsenal U21s
Rotherham vs Cambridge United
Hartlepool United vs Charlton Athletic
Sutton United vs Harrogate Town

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