Arsenal vs Reading team news: Lucas Perez starts but Olivier Giroud only on bench as Arsene Wenger makes nine changes

ARSENAL welcome back Lucas Perez for tonight's EFL Cup clash with Reading - but Olivier Giroud can only make do for a place on the bench.

Arsene Wenger's men are chasing glory on all four fronts and are unbeaten in their last 12 games in all competitions.

The Gunners have made nine changes, with Perez the lone striker, while France striker Giroud last features when coming on as a substitute in the 3-0 win over Chelsea on September 24 having recovered from a toe injury.

Wenger start with Alex Iwobi, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and £17million front  man Lucas Perez, while midfield starklet Jeff Reine-Adelaide, 18, also gets a run-out.

Santi Cazorla (Achilles) does not feature and Swiss star Granit Xhaka is still suspended.

Aaron Ramsey, Per Mertesacker and Danny Welbeck are not fit enough to play a part.

Not many people will give Jaap Stam and his Reading side much hope of a taking a scalp.

The last time the two sides met in the League Cup, the Gunners ran out 7-5 winners with the help of a Theo Walcott hat-trick - despite trailing 4-0 after 35 minutes.

The Royals have lost to Arsenal in all of the 13 games they have played over the years.

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Reading have lost to Arsenal in all of the 13 games they have played over the years. The last time the two sides met in any competition the Londoners triumphed 2-1 in the FA Cup semi-final in 2015 after keeper Adam Federici’s clanger allowed Alexis Sanchez to win it in extra-time.

Stam will also make a string of changes. Ali Al-Habsi keeps his place, and four academy graudates all start in the form of Liam Kelly, Tennai Watson, Jordan Obita and Dominic Samuel.

Although Wenger’s side are in-form, they were held to a goalless draw at home to Middlesbrough on Saturday.

Royals boss Stam, who faced the Gunners plenty of times while playing for Manchester United, said:  “We like to attack by playing possession football and that’s what they want to do as well.

“It’s always nice when two teams who play like that play against each other because things might open up. So it might be a very interesting game.

"I’ve played for smaller teams against very big teams before and we made it hard for them and even won some of those games.

"So we’ve got nothing to lose. We will be trying to get a result - we’re all looking forward to it.”

The Royals nicked a last-gasp win away to Rotherham thanks to centre-back Paul McShane’s goal.

What time is it on?

The match will kick off at 7:45pm on Tuesday October 25.

Where can I watch it?

The match will be broadcast on our live blog. Match highlights will also be shown on Match Of The Day, on BBC 1 at 10:20pm on Saturday.

What are the odds?

In-form Arsenal are understandably strong favourites. The Gunners are 2/9 for the win, Reading are 11/1 and the draw is 11/2.

Team news

Arsenal: Arsene Wenger's Arsenal are set for a change with a suspected 10 changes to give some of the youngsters a chance. France forward Olivier Giroud is likely to make his first appearance since their 3-0 victory over Chelsea having recovered from a toe injury. Santi Cazorla is out, while Aaron Ramsey is a major doubt.

Reading:

Chris Gunter is suspended and Jaap Stam will also make a series of changes and keeper Ali Al-Habsi could make way for Anssi Jaakkola.

Form Guide:

Arsenal: DWWWWWW

Reading: WLDDLWW