Morning all.

Losing is never nice but if there’s one competition I personally didn’t give a hoot about at the beginning of the season, it’s the League Cup. A trophy is nice but this particular one doesn’t even reward the winners with a place in the Europa Cup, not unless the Conference version counts but top four is the aim for Mikel Arteta and a long awaited return to playing Champions League football.

Mikel Arteta made ten changes to the team with the biggest surprise being Karl Hein instead of Matt Turner. I’ve not seen the game so I’ve no idea what went right for Brighton or wrong for Arsenal.

Asked about the number of changes, Mikel Arteta said:

I would select the same players if I had the opportunity again. There was a big difference between efficiency in both areas and we paid a big price for it. It’s a shame for the boys because they really tried and we should have scored two or three in the second half.”

Asked if the result suggests Arsenal need to add to their squad in the January transfer window:

That’s the squad that we have. We have to utilise in the best possible way and today we came short. It’s the same squad as when we win. I said from day one that we have a short squad because at the end we left some players. It’s what we have.

Make of Mikel Arteta’s comments what you choose but I think he’s simply saying what others might be thinking, the best are really good but the rest are either not good enough, not experienced enough or are not settled yet.

Wolverhampton Wanderers away from home on Saturday night is what matters now and another performance like the one we saw at Chelsea. Wolves defeated Leeds last night in what’s described on the BBC website as being a poor game. When one looks at their results so far this season, it matters not whether they’re home or away, Wolves are struggling to win matches.

I’ve been mulling over what to do during the World Cup. If it’s quiet when the season is in full flow, it’s going to be even quieter over the next few weeks. A few friendlies are being lined up by the club, just so match fitness levels don’t drop for those not travelling to Qatar but other than that, the only news is likely to relate to injuries so we don’t want any of that thank you. So it’s very unlikely there will be many new articles over the next few weeks. Just so you know I’ve not done a runner. Well, not yet….. lol