Arsenal youngsters prepare for annual cup outing

Arsene Wenger will treat tonight's third-round Carling Cup tie against West Brom at the Emirates as he usually does this competition, by giving the rest of the world their first glance of the stellar talents emerging from the Arsenal production line. Last season a team featuring seven teenagers in its starting line-up tore Sheffield United to shreds at the same stage of competition, putting six goals past them without reply.

One of the youngsters to shock and awe the world that night was midfielder Jack Wilshere, who had became the club's youngest league player the week before and then Arsenal's second youngest scorer when he buried a low shot into the back of the Sheffield United net. A year on, and Wilshere, now 17, has signed professional terms with the club and become a fixture of the England U21 side.

Wilshere was even a regular presence in Arsenal's pre-season friendlies, giving rise to speculation in some quarters that he was likely to leapfrog callow colleagues such as Aaron Ramsey in establishing himself in Wenger's first team, but the canny Frenchman has limited Wilshere to just a couple of cameo appearances in the Champions League to date.

The English tyro will feel like a grizzled old pro alongside some of the newer players that Wenger is expected to blood tonight - Wojciech Szczesny, a 19-year-old Polish goalkeeper whose father represented his country; French starlet Gilles Sunu, 18, a young striker; and compatriot Francis Coquelin, also 18. Both outfield players impressed in last season's double-winning U18 side at Emirates last year, with Sunu picked out for his "dazzling" contribution by Guardian 'scout' and former professional Steve Claridge.

Another pair of players who may come off the bench should the Gunners be comfortable against West Brom are English duo Kyle Bartley and striker Sanchez Watt. But Arsene Wenger will know that the Baggies, fresh from a 5-0 demolition of Middlesbrough at the weekend in the Championship, may prove a sterner test than Sheffield United did last term. For this reason, Arsenal are likely to start with wise old heads of Philippe Senderos and Mikael Silvestre at the back. ·