Arsenal’s 2025/26 Carabao Cup journey begins away to Port Vale in the third round. Mikel Arteta’s team enter at the latest stage of the competition possible as a result of their qualification for Europe last season, and were drawn as the first European qualifiers predetermined to play an away match. The Gunners will travel to Vale Park, over 3 hours north of the Emirates in Stoke-on-Trent, during the week beginning September 22nd.
Port Vale, “The Valiants”, have returned to League One this season after a one year absence, securing automatic promotion back to the third tier in the season just gone. They have been promoted under the management of Darren Moore, whose experience in management has stretched across the EFL, beginning with West Bromwich Albion and taking charge of Doncaster Rovers, Sheffield Wednesday and Huddersfield Town before overseeing both the relegation and promotion of The Vale.
Their 2025/26 season has got off to an inconsistent start. Zero wins and two draws after five League One matches leave them in the relegation zone, but Carabao Cup wins over fellow third tier outfit Blackpool, then the significantly higher-spending Championship side Birmingham City, have led Port Vale to a deserved home tie against The Gunners. Some of their recognisable names may include Joe Gauci, the goalkeeper currently on loan from Aston Villa, and Ronan Curtis, who came on for Portsmouth against Arsenal during an FA Cup tie in 2020. Right back Jordan Gabriel was also in the Arsenal Academy until 2013.
This will be the 23rd meeting between Arsenal and Port Vale, and Arsenal have the superior record, winning 13, drawing five and losing four of the 22 previous fixtures. However, this will be the first match between the two Clubs for over 27 years. The two most recent meetings both came in an FA Cup third round clash in January 1998; The Gunners didn’t find a breakthrough against The Valiants at Highbury, and were taken to penalties at Vale Park, successfully advancing and going on to win Arsène Wenger’s first Arsenal double.
Last time out, Arsenal named a strong lineup to face Port Vale; this time around, there may be an opportunity to give chances to some players on the edge of the first 11. Both Marli Salmon and Max Dowman, who looked promising in preseason, could be rewarded with more first team minutes, while rotations across the pitch could see the likes of Kepa, Cristhian Mosquera, Christian Nørgaard and maybe, just maybe, Piero Hincapié getting starts, as Arsenal look to set the pace for a potential first League Cup win since 1993, and a third in their rich history.