Kaya Kaynak, chief Arsenal writer for football.london, believes that the Gunners will field a strong side against Brentford in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday.

Despite competing on four fronts this season, including the Champions League after their second-place finish in the Premier League last term, the Carabao Cup is still a competition that head coach Mikel Arteta is set to take seriously.

Having won the competition during his time as assistant manager at Manchester City, Arteta comes from that school of thought where you have to try and win every competition you are in, helping to breed a winning mentality.

Brentford, however, will be hoping that is not the case when the north Londoners head west to Gtech Community Stadium on Wednesday night.

Arsenal are fifth in the Premier League, with four wins and two draws from their first six matches. What have you made of what you’ve seen so far?

It has been a good start from Arsenal, but I would not say it has been a great one. They have not reached the heights of last season when they raced into a lead that saw many people tip them to go on and beat Manchester City to the title. 

It has not quite been as slick as last season; Arteta has tried to change a few things, which have maybe unsettled them a little bit as they try to get used to a few new tweaks to the side and adapt to what he trying to do.

But they are still winning games and the exciting thing is that there is more to come and they are starting to build up a head of steam with some positive results under their belts.

By the time this game comes around, the Gunners will already be challenging in the Premier League and the Champions League. How important do you think the Carabao Cup will be to Arteta?

On his list of priorities for this season, it will not be particularly high - the other two competitions mentioned will be the main focus, as they have not played in the Champions League for six years. 

That said, Arsenal do have a squad with a high level of players and they will need to share the minutes around. I think Arteta will want to go as far as he can in the competition because of that, but also to win a trophy. 

When he was at Manchester City with Pep Guardiola, they always used to take the Carabao Cup very seriously and I think he does come from that school of thought, where you have to try and win every competition you are in.

Internally, he will be thinking it will not be the end of the world if they go out but, externally, he will definitely be saying he wants to win the competition because there are minutes to be shared and he wants to breed a winning mentality.

Arsenal made four major first-team signings this summer. How have they settled into life in north London?

Jurrien Timber is out injured for the season, which is a real shame because he was looking fantastic before his injury and playing well across the backline. 

Declan Rice, meanwhile, has started like a house on fire in the midfield. There have been interceptions galore and he has really upped the tempo and helped Arsenal stay high up the pitch with how good he is at pressing.

The jury is still out on Kai Havertz; he has not quite had the start people were hoping and I think people are still trying to figure out where he plays best: is he a midfielder? Is he a striker? Is he a no.10? Is he something in between? These are the same issues that plagued him at Chelsea and some are already starting to lose patience, which I think is premature after only five games. 

Brentford fans know David Raya very well. He looked very good against Everton and it is going to be interesting to see how Arteta handles that because you don't really get a number one and a number two swapping around all the time and, at the weekend, he indicated he wanted to do that even more.

Which player should Brentford fans keep an eye on at the Gtech?

If he plays, Bukayo Saka. It is not a hot take to say his name as Brentford fans will, of course, know him well from Arsenal and on the international stage with England.

It can often be difficult for him because he gets double-marked a lot by opposition teams, but he still manages to find a way - and even when he is quiet in games, he can come up with goals and assists, of which he has plenty already this season.

He has added a lot of end product to his game that maybe was not there when he first burst onto the scene.

Arsenal are known for their rotation and giving youth a chance in this competition, so how do you think they are likely to set up on Wednesday?

I think we will see a relatively experienced side. It will be a strong side, full of names that most people will know from over the past couple of years because there is such depth now, which is needed for the Champions League.

Players who have not featured much this season will come in, so I would back Emile Smith Rowe to start and, maybe because Arsenal are a little short of numbers in defence, I would say Reuelle Walters - an 18-year-old defender who can play across the backline - may be involved in the squad. Whether we will see him start is another question altogether. 

What is your score prediction for this one?

Brentford will definitely give Arsenal a good game because Arsenal will be coming into the game off the back of the Champions League and the north London derby against Tottenham.

I will go for a 1-1 draw and Arsenal to win on penalties, but I think it is going to be a close one.

Tickets for Brentford’s Carabao Cup game against Arsenal are on sale to all season ticket holders, as well as My Bees Members with 10+ TAPs. Members with 40+ TAPs can now purchase up to six tickets each. Buy now.