Arsenal go into the Carabao Cup third-round draw with a clear limit on who they can meet. Manchester United and Liverpool are both off the table, because European clubs are being kept apart in a pre-draw. Arsenal have also been given ball number two, and the third-round ties are scheduled across back-to-back weeks, from September 7 and then September 14.
The draw format Arsenal are entering
The club website said: "Due to our involvement in the UEFA Champions League, the draw will be carried out differently to the usual format."
It added: "All sides that have qualified for the European league phases will be kept from facing each other in a pre-draw. This draw will decide whether each of the eight Champions League and Europa League Clubs will be at home or away."
That leaves Arsenal in a split draw pool rather than a free-for-all. The first eight ties in the main draw will involve those European clubs, with home or away already decided, and each side then gets drawn against a club from the remaining teams' bowl.
The practical effect is obvious enough. Arsenal cannot face United or Liverpool in round three, and the same rule keeps a Manchester City reunion out of reach for now.
City rematch waits for another round
The City angle is the one that will catch the eye, because Arsenal beat them 3-0 in the Community Shield on 16 August 2026. A third-round meeting would have brought that story back quickly, but the cup draw rules shut it down.
Instead, a rematch with City is only possible from the fourth round at the earliest. Arsenal still enter the draw in strong form, with five straight wins, and they finished 1st in the Premier League in 2025. United finished 3rd and Liverpool 5th, which is why both clubs sit in the European group Arsenal avoid at this stage.
Chelsea and Tottenham remain among the more eye-catching names Arsenal could land if those clubs progress through their own ties. The draw will decide the rest, but the third round cannot produce an Arsenal meeting with United, Liverpool or City.
Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →
