Arsenal have been drawn against Premier League rivals Southampton. The south coast club will travel to the Emirates Stadium after overcoming Millwall with a convincing 2-0 win in the second round.
It has been a summer of contrasts for the clubs. Arsenal have enjoyed their summer spending, with the arrivals of Alexis Sanchez, Mathieu Debuchy, David Ospina and the former Southampton player, Calum Chambers. As well as qualifying for the Champions League group stages for the seventeenth successive season.
Southampton on the other hand, have gone under a massive rebuilding process. Losing their manager, Mauricio Pochettino, to Spurs signalled the start of a mass exodus of Southampton first team players. With no fewer than six players leaving the club, with three leaving to Liverpool. The club regained some stability with the arrival of Ronald Koeman and have since been active in the transfer market, signing seven players themselves. Including the shrewd addition of England goalkeeper Fraser Forster and Eredivise stars Graziano Pelle and Dusan Tadic.
The two clubs are seen to have a good relationship, with Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Calum Chambers all coming through the renowned Southampton academy before joining Arsenal.
Last season, Arsenal ran out 2-0 winners in this fixture, with Olivier Giroud scoring both of the goals. However the Frenchman will play no part in this tie after fracturing his ankle in Arsenal's 2-2 draw with Everton.
This is the fourth time that Arsenal have been drawn against Southampton. The last time the two teams faced off in the League Cup was way back on 25 September 1979, in which Arsenal ran out 2-1 winners. Three of their previous four meetings have been played at Arsenal's home ground, with the North London club conceding just once, whilst scoring a remarkable seven.
Arsene Wenger's side last won the competition back in 1993, beating Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 to claim the cup. Meanwhile Southampton have never claimed this honour. The closest Ronald Koeman's side have come was in the 1978/79 season when they claimed runners up medals.